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Asteroid mining is the hypothetical extraction of materials from asteroids and other minor planets, including near-Earth objects. [ 1 ] Notable asteroid mining challenges include the high cost of spaceflight , unreliable identification of asteroids which are suitable for mining, and the challenges of extracting usable material in a space ...
C-type (carbonaceous / ˌ k ɑːr b ə ˈ n eɪ ʃ ə s /) asteroids are the most common variety, forming around 75% of known asteroids. [1] They are volatile-rich and distinguished by a very low albedo because their composition includes a large amount of carbon, in addition to rocks and minerals. They have an average density of about 1.7 g/cm 3.
Q-type asteroids are relatively uncommon inner-belt asteroids with a strong, broad 1 micrometre olivine and pyroxene feature, and a spectral slope that indicates the presence of metal. There are absorption features shortwards and longwards of 0.7 μm, and the spectrum is generally intermediate between the V and S-type .
AstroForge's ultimate goal in the field of asteroid mining is the extraction, refinement, and sale of platinum-group metals (PGMs) located within M-type asteroids near to Earth. These asteroids are expected to be quite small in comparison to main belt asteroids, being anywhere from around 20 to 300 meters in diameter.
Outside the top four, the ranking of all the asteroids is uncertain, as there is a great deal of overlap among the estimates. The largest asteroids with an accurately measured mass, because they have been studied by the probe Dawn, are 1 Ceres with a mass of (939.3 ± 0.5) × 10 18 kg, and 4 Vesta at (259.076 ± 0.001) × 10 18 kg.
E-type asteroids have a high albedo (0.3 or higher), which distinguishes them from the more common M-type asteroids.Their spectrum is featureless flat to reddish. Probably because they originated from the edge of a larger parent body rather than a core, E-types are all small, with only three (44 Nysa, 55 Pandora, 64 Angelina) having diameters above 50 kilometres and no others above 25 ...
a "core" S-type for asteroids having the most typical spectra for the S-group; Sa, Sk, Sl, Sq, and Sr-types containing transition objects between the core S-type and the A, K, L, Q, and R-types, respectively. The entire "S"-assemblage of asteroids is spectrally quite distinct from the carbonaceous C-group and the often metallic X-group.
Approximately 8% of known main belt asteroids are similar in composition to 16 Psyche. [10] [11] One company, Planetary Resources, is already aiming to develop technologies with the goal of using them to mine asteroids. Planetary Resources estimates some 30-meter long asteroids to contain as much as $25 to $50 billion worth of platinum. [12]