One Step for Space Mining
February 25, 2019
A Japanese space probe recently landed on a mineral-rich asteroid named Ryugu and will bring back samples to Earth, in what the project manager called “a first step toward resource mining in space.” In Issues, a group of US experts has explored the prospects for space mining, calling for new policies, informed by sound scientific and engineering principles, that will encourage commercial progress while ensuring equitable distribution of economic benefits and promoting the collective interest in maintaining the peaceful use of space.