There's an asteroid out there worth $100,000 quadrillion. Why haven't we mined it?
On Oct. 13, 2023, NASA launched a mission to 16 Psyche , a large, metal-rich asteroid about six years away, to learn more about how planetary interiors form. The asteroid has a jaw-dropping estimated monetary value : $100,000 quadrillion . That's because 16 Psyche is a literal goldmine, packed with rare elements essential to cars and electronics, like platinum and palladium. To explore — and perhaps settle — space, we'll need extraterrestrial sources of materials. Companies such as AstroForge and TransAstra are already looking into building mines on asteroid s like Psyche. But how close are we to mining them and reaping their cosmic treasures? Technologically speaking, we're pretty close, said Philip Metzger , a planetary physicist at the University of Central Florida. The only difference between mining on an asteroid versus on Earth is the need for equipment that can withstand low-gravity, high-radiation conditions. The equipment also needs to ...