Asteroid mining

Exploitation of raw materials from asteroids

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Asteroid mining" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (May 2023)

|

(Learn how and when to remove this message)

Overview of the Inner Solar System asteroids up to the Jovian System

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 environment.

Asteroid sample return research missions, such as Hayabusa, Hayabusa2, and OSIRIS-REx illustrate the challenges of collecting ore from space using current technology. As of 2024, around 127 grams of asteroid material has been successfully returned to Earth from space.[2] Asteroid research missions are complex endeavors and return a tiny amount of material (less than 100 milligrams Hayabusa,[3] 5.4 grams Hayabusa2,[4] ~121.6 grams OSIRIS-REx[5]) relative to the size and expense of these projects ($300 million Hayabusa, $800 million Hayabusa2, $1.16 billion OSIRIS-REx).[6][7]

The history of asteroid mining is brief but features a gradual development. Ideas of which asteroids to prospect, how to gather resources, and what to do with those resources have evolved over the decades.

## History

[edit]

### Prior to 1970

[edit]

Before 1970, asteroid mining existed largely within the realm of science fiction. Stories such as Worlds of If,[8] Scavengers in Space,[9] and Miners in the Sky[10] told stories about the conceived dangers, motives, and experiences of mining asteroids. At the same time, many researchers in academia speculated about the profits that could be gained from asteroid mining, but they lacked the technology to seriously pursue the idea.[11]

### The 1970s

[edit]

In 1969,[12] the Apollo 11 Moon Landing spurred a wave of scientific interest in human space activity far beyond the Earth's orbit. As the decade continued, more and more academic interest surrounded the topic of asteroid mining. A good deal of serious academic consideration was aimed at mining asteroids located closer to Earth than the main asteroid belt. In particular, the asteroid groups Apollo and Amor were considered.[13] These groups were chosen not only because of their proximity to Earth but also because many at the time thought they were rich in raw materials that could be refined.[13]

Despite the wave of interest, many in the space science community were aware of how little was known about asteroids and encouraged a more gradual and systematic approach to asteroid mining.[14]

### The 1980s

[edit]

Academic interest in asteroid mining continued into the 1980s. The idea of targeting the Apollo and Amor asteroid groups still had some popularity.[15] However, by the late 1980s the interest in the Apollo and Amor asteroid groups was being replaced with interest in the moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos.[16]

Organizations like NASA begin to formulate ideas of how to process materials in space[17] and what to do with the materials that are hypothetically gathered from space.[18]

### The 1990s

[edit]

Hayabusa2 asteroid sample-return mission (3 December 2014 – 5 December 2020)

New reasons emerge for pursuing asteroid mining. These reasons tend to revolve around environmental concerns, such as fears over humans over-consuming the Earth's natural resources[19] and trying to capture energy from the Sun in space.[20]

In the same decade, NASA was trying to establish what materials in asteroids could be valuable for extraction. These materials included free-metals, volatiles, and bulk dirt.[21]

### The 2010s

[edit]

After a burst of interest in the 2010s, asteroid mining ambitions shifted to more distant long-term goals and some 'asteroid mining' companies have pivoted to more general-purpose propulsion technology.[22]

### The 2020s

[edit]

The 2020s have brought a resurgence of interest, with companies from the United States, Europe, and China renewing their efforts in this ambitious venture. This revival is fueled by a new era of commercial space exploration, significantly driven by SpaceX. Founded by Elon Musk, SpaceX's development of reusable rocket boosters has substantially lowered the cost of space access, reigniting interest and investment in asteroid mining. Even a congressional committee acknowledged this renewed interest by holding a hearing on the topic in December 2023[23] There are also endeavors to make first-time landings on M-type asteroids to mine metals like Iridium which sells for many thousands per ounce. Private company driven efforts have also given rise to a new culture of secrecy obfuscating which asteroids are identified and targeted for mining missions, whereas previously government-led asteroid research and exploration operated with more transparency.[24]

## Minerals in space

[edit]

As resource depletion on Earth becomes more of a concern, the idea of extracting valuable elements from asteroids and returning them to Earth for profit, or using space-based resources to build solar-power satellites and space habitats,[25][26] becomes more attractive. Hypothetically, water processed from ice could refuel orbiting propellant depots.[27][28][29]

Although asteroids and Earth accreted from the same starting materials, Earth's relatively stronger gravity pulled all heavy siderophilic (iron-loving) elements into its core during its molten youth more than four billion years ago.[30][31][32] This left the crust depleted of such valuable elements until a rain of asteroid impacts re-infused the depleted crust with metals like gold, cobalt, iron, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, osmium, palladium, platinum, rhenium, rhodium, ruthenium and tungsten (some flow from core to surface does occur, e.g. at the Bushveld Igneous Complex, a famously rich source of platinum-group metals).[33][34][35][36] Today, these metals are mined from Earth's crust, and they are essential for economic and technological progress. Hence, the geologic history of Earth may very well set the stage for a future of asteroid mining.

In 2006, the Keck Observatory announced that the binary Jupiter trojan 617 Patroclus,[37] and possibly large numbers of other Jupiter trojans, are likely extinct comets and consist largely of water ice. Similarly, Jupiter-family comets, and possibly near-Earth asteroids that are extinct comets, might also provide water. The process of in-situ resource utilization—using materials native to space for propellant, thermal management, tankage, radiation shielding, and other high-mass components of space infrastructure—could lead to radical reductions in its cost.[38] Although whether these cost reductions could be achieved, and if achieved would offset the enormous infrastructure investment required, is unknown.

From the astrobiological perspective, asteroid prospecting could provide scientific data for the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). Some astrophysicists have suggested that if advanced extraterrestrial civilizations employed asteroid mining long ago, the hallmarks of these activities might be detectable.[39][40][41]

An important factor to consider in target selection is orbital economics, in particular the change in velocity (Δv) and travel time to and from the target. More of the extracted native material must be expended as propellant in higher Δv trajectories, thus less returned as payload. Direct Hohmann trajectories are faster than Hohmann trajectories assisted by planetary and/or lunar flybys, which in turn are faster than those of the Interplanetary Transport Network, but the reduction in transfer time comes at the cost of increased Δv requirements.[citation needed]

Mission  | Δv (km/s)

|

Earth surface to LEO | 8.0
LEO to near-Earth asteroid  | 5.5[note 1]
LEO to lunar surface  | 6.3
LEO to moons of Mars | 8.0

The Easily Recoverable Object (ERO) subclass of Near-Earth asteroids are considered likely candidates for early mining activity. Their low Δv makes them suitable for use in extracting construction materials for near-Earth space-based facilities, greatly reducing the economic cost of transporting supplies into Earth orbit.[42]

The table above shows a comparison of Δv requirements for various missions. In terms of propulsion energy requirements, a mission to a near-Earth asteroid compares favorably to alternative mining missions.

An example of a potential target[43] for an early asteroid mining expedition is 4660 Nereus, expected to be mainly enstatite. This body has a very low Δv compared to lifting materials from the surface of the Moon. However, it would require a much longer round-trip to return the material.

Multiple types of asteroids have been identified but the three main types would include the C-type, S-type, and M-type asteroids:

* C-type asteroids have a high abundance of water which is not currently of use for mining but could be used in an exploration effort beyond the asteroid. Mission costs could be reduced by using the available water from the asteroid. C-type asteroids also have high amounts of organic carbon, phosphorus, and other key ingredients for fertilizer which could be used to grow food.[44]
* S-type asteroids carry little water but are more attractive because they contain numerous metals, including nickel, cobalt, and more valuable metals, such as gold, platinum, and rhodium. A small 10-meter S-type asteroid contains about 650,000 kg (1,433,000 lb) of metal with 50 kg (110 lb) in the form of rare metals like platinum and gold.[44][failed verification]
* M-type asteroids are rare but contain up to 10 times more metal than S-types.[44]

A class of "easily retrievable objects" (EROs) was identified by a group of researchers in 2013. Twelve asteroids made up the initially identified group, all of which could be potentially mined with present-day rocket technology. Of 9,000 asteroids searched in the NEO database, these twelve could all be brought into an Earth-accessible orbit by changing their velocity by less than 500 meters per second (1,800 km/h; 1,100 mph). The dozen asteroids range in size from 2 to 20 meters (10 to 70 ft).[45]

### Asteroid cataloging

[edit]

Main article: B612 Foundation

The B612 Foundation is a private nonprofit foundation with headquarters in the United States, dedicated to protecting Earth from asteroid strikes. As a non-governmental organization it has conducted two lines of related research to help detect asteroids that could one day strike Earth, and find the technological means to divert their path to avoid such collisions.

The foundation's 2013 goal was to design and build a privately financed asteroid-finding space telescope, Sentinel, hoping in 2013 to launch it in 2017–2018. The Sentinel's infrared telescope, once parked in an orbit similar to that of Venus, is designed to help identify threatening asteroids by cataloging 90% of those with diameters larger than 140 metres (460 ft), as well as surveying smaller Solar System objects.[46][47][48] After NASA terminated their $30 million funding agreement with the B612 Foundation in October 2015[49] and the private fundraising did not achieve its goals, the Foundation eventually opted for an alternative approach using a constellation of much smaller spacecraft which is under study as of June 2017[update].[50] NASA/JPL's NEOCam has been proposed instead.

## Mining considerations

[edit]

There are four options for mining:[42]

1. In-space manufacturing (ISM),[51] which may be enabled by biomining.[52]
2. Bring raw asteroidal material to Earth for use.
3. Process asteroidal material on-site to bring back only processed materials, and perhaps produce propellant for the return trip.
4. Transport the asteroid to a safe orbit around the Moon or Earth or to a space station.[29] This can hypothetically allow for most materials to be used and not wasted.[26]

Processing in situ for the purpose of extracting high-value minerals will reduce the energy requirements for transporting the materials, although the processing facilities must first be transported to the mining site. In situ mining will involve drilling boreholes and injecting hot fluid/gas and allow the useful material to react or melt with the solvent and extract the solute. Due to the weak gravitational fields of asteroids, any activities, like drilling, will cause large disturbances and form dust clouds. These might be confined by some dome or bubble barrier. Or else some means of rapidly dissipating any dust could be provided.

Mining operations require special equipment to handle the extraction and processing of ore in outer space.[42] The machinery will need to be anchored to the body,[citation needed] but once in place, the ore can be moved about more readily due to the lack of gravity. However, no techniques for refining ore in zero gravity currently exist. Docking with an asteroid might be performed using a harpoon-like process, where a projectile would penetrate the surface to serve as an anchor; then an attached cable would be used to winch the vehicle to the surface, if the asteroid is both penetrable and rigid enough for a harpoon to be effective.[53]

Due to the distance from Earth to an asteroid selected for mining, the round-trip time for communications will be several minutes or more, except during occasional close approaches to Earth by near-Earth asteroids. Thus any mining equipment will either need to be highly automated, or a human presence will be needed nearby.[42] Humans would also be useful for troubleshooting problems and for maintaining the equipment. On the other hand, multi-minute communications delays have not prevented the success of robotic exploration of Mars, and automated systems would be much less expensive to build and deploy.[54]

## Mining projects

[edit]

On April 24, 2012 at the Seattle, Washington Museum of Flight, a plan was announced by billionaire entrepreneurs to mine asteroids for their resources.[55] The company was called Planetary Resources and its founders included aerospace entrepreneurs Eric Anderson and Peter Diamandis.[38] The company announced plans to create a propellant depot in space by 2020; splitting water from asteroids into hydrogen and oxygen to replenish satellites and spacecraft. Advisers included film director and explorer James Cameron; investors included Google's chief executive Larry Page, and its executive chairman was Eric Schmidt.[56][38] Telescope technology proposed to identify and examine candidate asteroids lead to development of the Arkyd family of spacecraft; two prototypes of which were flown in 2015[57] and 2018.[58] Shortly after, all plans for the Arkyd space telescope technology were abandoned; the company was wound down, its hardware auctioned off,[59] and remaining assets acquired by ConsenSys, a blockchain company.[60]

A year after the appearance of Planetary Resources, similar asteroid mining plans were announced in 2013 by Deep Space Industries; a company established by David Gump, Rick Tumlinson, and others.[61] The initial goal was to visit asteroids with prospecting and sample return spacecraft in 2015 and 2016;[62] and begin mining within ten years.[63] Deep Space Industries later pivoted to developing & selling the propulsion systems that would enable its envisioned asteroid operations, including a successful line of water-propellant thrusters in 2018;[64] and in 2019 was acquired by Bradford Space, a company with a portfolio of earth orbit systems and space flight components.[65]

## Proposed mining projects

[edit]

At ISDC-San Diego 2013,[66] Kepler Energy and Space Engineering (KESE, llc) announced its intention to send an automated mining system to collect 40 tons of asteroid regolith and return to low Earth orbit by 2020.

In September 2012, the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC) announced the Robotic Asteroid Prospector project, which would examine and evaluate the feasibility of asteroid mining in terms of means, methods, and systems.[67]

The TransAstra Corporation develops technology to locate and harvest asteroids using a family of spacecraft built around a patented approach using concentrated solar energy known as optical mining.[68]

In 2022, a startup called AstroForge announced intentions to develop technologies & spacecraft for prospecting, mining, and refining platinum from near-earth asteroids.[69]

## Economics

[edit]

Currently, the quality of the ore and the consequent cost and mass of equipment required to extract it are unknown and can only be speculated on. Some economic analyses indicate that the cost of returning asteroidal materials to Earth far outweighs their market value, and that asteroid mining will not attract private investment at current commodity prices and space transportation costs.[70][71] Other studies suggest large profit by using solar power.[72][73] Potential markets for materials can be identified and profit generated if extraction cost is brought down. For example, the delivery of multiple tonnes of water to low Earth orbit for rocket fuel preparation for space tourism could generate significant profit if space tourism itself proves profitable.[74]

In 1997, it was speculated that a relatively small metallic asteroid with a diameter of 1.6 km (1 mi) contains more than US$20 trillion worth of industrial and precious metals.[28][75] A comparatively small M-type asteroid with a mean diameter of 1 km (0.62 mi) could contain more than two billion metric tons of iron–nickel ore,[citation needed] or two to three times the world production of 2004.[76] The asteroid 16 Psyche is believed to contain 1.7×1019 kg of nickel–iron, which could supply the world production requirement for several million years. A small portion of the extracted material would also be precious metals.

Not all mined materials from asteroids would be cost-effective, especially for the potential return of economic amounts of material to Earth. For potential return to Earth, platinum is considered very rare in terrestrial geologic formations and therefore is potentially worth bringing some quantity for terrestrial use. Nickel, on the other hand, is quite abundant on Earth and being mined in many terrestrial locations, so the high cost of asteroid mining may not make it economically viable.[77]

Although Planetary Resources indicated in 2012 that the platinum from a 30-meter-long (98 ft) asteroid could be worth US$25–50 billion,[78] an economist remarked any outside source of precious metals could lower prices sufficiently to possibly doom the venture by rapidly increasing the available supply of such metals.[79]

Development of an infrastructure for altering asteroid orbits could offer a large return on investment.[80]

### Scarcity

[edit]

Main article: Natural resource § Classification

See also: Steady-state economy § Pushing some of the terrestrial limits into outer space

Scarcity is a fundamental economic problem of humans having seemingly unlimited wants in a world of limited resources. Since Earth's resources are finite, the relative abundance of asteroidal ore gives asteroid mining the potential to provide nearly unlimited resources, which could essentially eliminate scarcity for those materials.

The idea of exhausting resources is not new. In 1798, Thomas Malthus wrote, because resources are ultimately limited, the exponential growth in a population would result in falls in income per capita until poverty and starvation would result as a constricting factor on population.[81] Malthus posited this 226 years ago, and no sign has yet emerged of the Malthus effect regarding raw materials.

* Proven reserves are deposits of mineral resources that are already discovered and known to be economically extractable under present or similar demand, price and other economic and technological conditions.[81]
* Conditional reserves are discovered deposits that are not yet economically viable.[81]
* Indicated reserves are less intensively measured deposits whose data is derived from surveys and geological projections. Hypothetical reserves and speculative resources make up this group of reserves.[81]
* Inferred reserves are deposits that have been located but not yet exploited.[81]

Continued development in asteroid mining techniques and technology may help to increase mineral discoveries.[82] As the cost of extracting mineral resources, especially platinum group metals, on Earth rises, the cost of extracting the same resources from celestial bodies declines due to technological innovations around space exploration.[81]

As of September 2016[update], there are 711 known asteroids with a value exceeding US$100 trillion each.[83]

### Financial feasibility

[edit]

Space ventures are high-risk, with long lead times and heavy capital investment, and that is no different for asteroid-mining projects. These types of ventures could be funded through private investment or through government investment. For a commercial venture, it can be profitable as long as the revenue earned is greater than total costs (costs for extraction and costs for marketing).[81] The costs involving an asteroid-mining venture were estimated to be around US$100 billion in 1996.[81]

There are six categories of cost considered for an asteroid mining venture:[81]

1. Research and development costs
2. Exploration and prospecting costs
3. Construction and infrastructure development costs
4. Operational and engineering costs
5. Environmental costs
6. Time cost

Determining financial feasibility is best represented through net present value.[81] One requirement needed for financial feasibility is a high return on investment estimating around 30%.[81] Example calculation assumes for simplicity that the only valuable material on asteroids is platinum. On August 16, 2016, platinum was valued at $1157 per ounce or $37,000 per kilogram. At a price of $1,340, for a 10% return on investment, 173,400 kg (5,575,000 ozt) of platinum would have to be extracted for every 1,155,000 tons of asteroid ore. For a 50% return on investment 1,703,000 kg (54,750,000 ozt) of platinum would have to be extracted for every 11,350,000 tons of asteroid ore. This analysis assumes that doubling the supply of platinum to the market (5.13 million ounces in 2014) would have no effect on the price of platinum. A more realistic assumption is that increasing the supply by this amount would reduce the price 30–50%.[citation needed]

The financial feasibility of asteroid mining with regards to different technical parameters has been presented by Sonter[84] and more recently by Hein et al.[85]

Hein et al.[85] have specifically explored the case where platinum is brought from space to Earth and estimate that economically viable asteroid mining for this specific case would be rather challenging.

Decreases in the price of space access matter. The start of operational use of the low-cost-per-kilogram-in-orbit Spacex Falcon Heavy launch vehicle in 2018 is projected by astronomer Martin Elvis to have increased the extent of economically minable near-Earth asteroids from hundreds to thousands. With the increased availability of several kilometers per second of delta-v that Falcon Heavy provides, it increases the number of NEAs accessible from 3 percent to around 45 percent.[86]

Precedent for joint investment by multiple parties into a long-term venture to mine commodities may be found in the legal concept of a mining partnership, which exists in the state laws of multiple US states including California. In a mining partnership, "[Each] member of a mining partnership shares in the profits and losses thereof in the proportion which the interest or share he or she owns in the mine bears to the whole partnership capital or whole number of shares."[87]

### Mining the Asteroid Belt from Mars

[edit]

See also: Category:Main-belt_asteroids, Amor asteroids, and Apollo asteroids

The asteroids of the inner Solar System and Jupiter: The belt is located between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars.  Sun
Jupiter trojans

Orbits of planets

|  Asteroid belt
Hilda asteroids (Hildas)
Near-Earth objects (selection)

|

Main Asteroid Belt 42 largest asteroids

Amor asteroid belt

Apollo asteroid belt

Aten asteroid belt

See also: List of exceptional asteroids

Since Mars is much closer to the asteroid belt than Earth is, it would take less Delta-v to get to the asteroid belt and return minerals to Mars. One hypothesis is that the origin of the Moons of Mars (Phobos and Deimos) are actually asteroid captures from the asteroid belt.[88] 16 Psyche in the main belt could have over $10,000 Quadrillion United States dollar worth of minerals. NASA is planning a mission for October 10, 2023 for the Psyche orbiter to launch and get to the asteroid by August 2029 to study.[89] 511 Davida could have $27 quadrillion worth of minerals and resources.[90] Using the moon Phobos to launch spacecraft is energetically favorable and a useful location from which to dispatch missions to main belt asteroids.[91] Mining the asteroid belt from Mars and its moons could help in the Colonization of Mars.[92][93][94]

#### Phobos as a space elevator for Mars

[edit]

Space elevator Phobos

Phobos is synchronously orbiting Mars, where the same face stays facing the planet at ~6,028 km above the Martian surface. A space elevator could extend from Phobos to Mars 6,000 km, about 28 kilometers from the surface, and just out of the atmosphere of Mars. A similar space elevator cable could extend out 6,000 km the opposite direction that would counterbalance Phobos. In total the space elevator would extend over 12,000 km which would be below Areostationary orbit of Mars (17,032 km). A rocket launch would be needed to get the rocket and cargo to the beginning of the space elevator 28 km above the surface. The surface of Mars is rotating at 0.25 km/s at the equator and the bottom of the space elevator would be rotating around Mars at 0.77 km/s, so only 0.52 km/s of Delta-v would be needed to get to the space elevator. Phobos orbits at 2.15 km/s and the outer most part of the space elevator would rotate around Mars at 3.52 km/s.[95]

Earth vs Mars vs Moon gravity at elevation

## Regulation and safety

[edit]

Space law involves a specific set of international treaties, along with national statutory laws. The system and framework for international and domestic laws have emerged in part through the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs.[96] The rules, terms and agreements that space law authorities consider to be part of the active body of international space law are the five international space treaties and five UN declarations. Approximately 100 nations and institutions were involved in negotiations. The space treaties cover many major issues such as arms control, non-appropriation of space, freedom of exploration, liability for damages, safety and rescue of astronauts and spacecraft, prevention of harmful interference with space activities and the environment, notification and registration of space activities, and the settlement of disputes. In exchange for assurances from the space power, the nonspacefaring nations acquiesced to U.S. and Soviet proposals to treat outer space as a commons (res communis) territory which belonged to no one state.

Asteroid mining in particular is covered by both international treaties—for example, the Outer Space Treaty—and national statutory laws—for example, specific legislative acts in the United States[97] and Luxembourg.[98]

Varying degrees of criticism exist regarding international space law. Some critics accept the Outer Space Treaty, but reject the Moon Agreement. The Outer Space Treaty allows private property rights for outer space natural resources once removed from the surface, subsurface or subsoil of the Moon and other celestial bodies in outer space.[citation needed] Thus, international space law is capable of managing newly emerging space mining activities, private space transportation, commercial spaceports and commercial space stations, habitats and settlements. Space mining involving the extraction and removal of natural resources from their natural location is allowable under the Outer Space Treaty.[citation needed] Once removed, those natural resources can be reduced to possession, sold,[citation needed] traded and explored or used for scientific purposes. International space law allows space mining, specifically the extraction of natural resources. It is generally understood within the space law authorities that extracting space resources is allowable, even by private companies for profit.[citation needed] However, international space law prohibits property rights over territories and outer space land.

Astrophysicists Carl Sagan and Steven J. Ostro raised the concern altering the trajectories of asteroids near Earth might pose a collision hazard threat. They concluded that orbit engineering has both opportunities and dangers: if controls instituted on orbit-manipulation technology were too tight, future spacefaring could be hampered, but if they were too loose, human civilization would be at risk.[80][99][100]

### The Outer Space Treaty

[edit]

Outer Space Treaty:

Parties

Signatories

Non-parties

After ten years of negotiations between nearly 100 nations, the Outer Space Treaty opened for signature on January 27, 1966. It entered into force as the constitution for outer space on October 10, 1967. The Outer Space Treaty was well received; it was ratified by ninety-six nations and signed by an additional twenty-seven states. The outcome has been that the basic foundation of international space law consists of five (arguably four) international space treaties, along with various written resolutions and declarations. The main international treaty is the Outer Space Treaty of 1967; it is generally viewed as the "Constitution" for outer space. By ratifying the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, ninety-eight nations agreed that outer space would belong to the "province of mankind", that all nations would have the freedom to "use" and "explore" outer space, and that both these provisions must be done in a way to "benefit all mankind".

The province of mankind principle and the other key terms have not yet been specifically defined (Jasentuliyana, 1992). Critics have complained that the Outer Space Treaty is vague. Yet, international space law has worked well and has served space commercial industries and interests for many decades. The taking away and extraction of Moon rocks, for example, has been treated as being legally permissible.

The framers of Outer Space Treaty initially focused on solidifying broad terms first, with the intent to create more specific legal provisions later (Griffin, 1981: 733–734). This is why the members of the COPUOS later expanded the Outer Space Treaty norms by articulating more specific understandings which are found in the "three supplemental agreements" – the Rescue and Return Agreement of 1968, the Liability Convention of 1973, and the Registration Convention of 1976 (734).

Hobe (2007) explains that the Outer Space Treaty "explicitly and implicitly prohibits only the acquisition of territorial property rights" but extracting space resources is allowable. It is generally understood within the space law authorities that extracting space resources is allowable, even by private companies for profit. However, international space law prohibits property rights over territories and outer space land. Hobe further explains that there is no mention of “the question of the extraction of natural resources which means that such use is allowed under the Outer Space Treaty” (2007: 211). He also points out that there is an unsettled question regarding the division of benefits from outer space resources in accordance with Article, paragraph 1 of the Outer Space Treaty.[101]

### The Moon Agreement

[edit]

Main article: Moon Agreement

Participation in the Moon Treaty

Parties

Signatories

Non-parties

The Moon Agreement was signed on December 18, 1979, as part of the United Nations Charter and it entered into force in 1984 after a five state ratification consensus procedure, agreed upon by the members of the United Nations Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS).[102] As of September 2019, only 18 nations have signed or ratified the treaty.[102] The other three outer space treaties experienced a high level of international cooperation in terms of signage and ratification, but the Moon Treaty went further than them, by defining the Common Heritage concept in more detail and by imposing specific obligations on the parties engaged in the exploration and/or exploitation of outer space. The Moon Treaty explicitly designates the Moon and its natural resources as part of the Common Heritage of Mankind.[103]

The Article 11 establishes that lunar resources are "not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means".[104] However, exploitation of resources is suggested to be allowed if it is "governed by an international regime" (Article 11.5), but the rules of such regime have not yet been established.[105] S. Neil Hosenball, the NASA General Counsel and chief US negotiator for the Moon Treaty, cautioned in 2018 that negotiation of the rules of the international regime should be delayed until the feasibility of exploitation of lunar resources has been established.[106]

The objection to the treaty by the spacefaring nations is held to be the requirement that extracted resources (and the technology used to that end) must be shared with other nations. The similar regime in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is believed to impede the development of such industries on the seabed.[107]

The United States, the Russian Federation, and the People's Republic of China (PRC) have neither signed, acceded to, nor ratified the Moon Agreement.[108]

### Legal regimes of some countries

[edit]

#### Luxembourg

[edit]

In February 2016, the Government of Luxembourg said that it would attempt to "jump-start an industrial sector to mine asteroid resources in space" by, among other things, creating a "legal framework" and regulatory incentives for companies involved in the industry.[98][109] By June 2016, it announced that it would "invest more than US$200 million in research, technology demonstration, and in the direct purchase of equity in companies relocating to Luxembourg".[110] In 2017, it became the "first European country to pass a law conferring to companies the ownership of any resources they extract from space", and remained active in advancing space resource public policy in 2018.[111][112]

In 2017, Japan, Portugal, and the UAE entered into cooperation agreements with Luxembourg for mining operations in celestial bodies.[113]

In 2018, the Luxembourg Space Agency was created.[114] It provides private companies and organizations working on asteroid mining with financial support.[115][116]

#### United States

[edit]

Some nations are beginning to promulgate legal regimes for extraterrestrial resource extraction. For example, the United States "SPACE Act of 2015"—facilitating private development of space resources consistent with US international treaty obligations—passed the US House of Representatives in July 2015.[117][118] In November 2015 it passed the United States Senate.[119] On 25 November U.S. President Barack Obama signed the H.R.2262 – U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act into law.[120] The law recognizes the right of U.S. citizens to own space resources they obtain and encourages the commercial exploration and use of resources from asteroids. According to the article § 51303 of the law:[121]

> A United States citizen engaged in commercial recovery of an asteroid resource or a space resource under this chapter shall be entitled to any asteroid resource or space resource obtained, including to possess, own, transport, use, and sell the asteroid resource or space resource obtained in accordance with applicable law, including the international obligations of the United States

On 6 April 2020 U.S. President Donald Trump signed the Executive Order on Encouraging International Support for the Recovery and Use of Space Resources. According to the Order:[122][123]

* Americans should have the right to engage in commercial exploration, recovery, and use of resources in outer space
* the US does not view space as a "global commons"
* the US opposes the Moon Agreement

## Environmental impact

[edit]

A positive impact of asteroid mining has been conjectured as being an enabler of transferring industrial activities into space, such as energy generation.[124] A quantitative analysis of the potential environmental benefits of water and platinum mining in space has been developed, where potentially large benefits could materialize, depending on the ratio of material mined in space and mass launched into space.[125]

## Research missions to asteroids and comets

[edit]

### Proposed or cancelled

[edit]

* Near Earth Asteroid Prospector – concept for a small commercial spacecraft mission by the private company SpaceDev; the project ran into fundraising difficulties and was subsequently cancelled.[126][127][128]
* VIPER rover – cancelled NASA mission to prospect for lunar resources

### Ongoing and planned

[edit]

* Hayabusa2 – ongoing JAXA asteroid sample return mission (arrived at the target in 2018, returned sample in 2020)
* OSIRIS-REx – NASA asteroid sample return mission (launched on September 8, 2016, arrived at target 2020,[129] returned sample on September 24, 2023[130])
* Fobos-Grunt 2 – proposed Roskosmos sample return mission to Phobos

### Completed

[edit]

See also: List of minor planets and comets visited by spacecraft

First of successful missions by country:[131]

Nation  | Flyby  | Orbit  | Landing  | Sample return

|
|
|
|

United States | ICE (1985) | NEAR (1997) | NEAR (2001) | Stardust (2006), OSIRIS-REx (2023)
Japan | Suisei (1986) | Hayabusa (2005) | Hayabusa (2005) | Hayabusa (2010), Hayabusa2 (2020)
European Union | ICE (1985) | Rosetta (2014) | Rosetta (2014) |
Soviet Union | Vega 1 (1986) |  |  |
China | Chang'e 2 (2012) |  |  |

## In fiction

[edit]

See also: Asteroids in fiction

An astronaut mining an asteroid using a hand drill in the video game Space Engineers.

The first mention of asteroid mining in science fiction apparently[clarification needed] came in Garrett P. Serviss' story Edison's Conquest of Mars, published in the New York Evening Journal in 1898.[132][unreliable source][133][non-primary source needed] Several science-fiction video games include asteroid mining.[citation needed]

## Gallery

[edit]

* Illustration of proposed asteroid capture by Keck Institute for Space Studies made for Asteroid Redirect Mission

* Artist's concept from the 1970s of asteroid mining

* Artist's concept of an asteroid mining vehicle as seen in 1984

* Artist's concept of an asteroid moved by a space tether

* 16 Psyche space elevator concept
The surface gravity is less than 2% of Earth's at ~0.144 m/s2

## See also

[edit]

* Asteroid belt
* Asteroid capture
* Asteroid Redirect Mission
* Deep Space Industries
* Gravity train / elevator
* In situ resource utilization
* Lunar resources
* Mining
* Mining the Sky: Untold Riches from the Asteroids, Comets, and Planets
* Near Earth Asteroid Prospector
* Planetary Resources Inc.
* TransAstra Corporation
* Sample-return mission
* Space manufacturing
* Space-based economy
* SpaceDev
* World Is Not Enough (spacecraft propulsion)

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ This is the average amount; asteroids with much lower delta-v exist.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ O'Leary, B. (1977-07-22). "Mining the Apollo and Amor Asteroids". Science. 197 (4301): 363–366. Bibcode:1977Sci...197..363O. doi:10.1126/science.197.4301.363. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 17797965. S2CID 45597532.
2. ^ "The tale of 2 asteroid sample-return missions". cen.acs.org. Archived from the original on 2021-06-02. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
3. ^ "Actual mass of Hayabusa samples in 2010?". Archived from the original on 2 December 2021. "Fellow member Jack extracted the data from the available pdfs and collated it to get a very rough value - 60 mg. It's based on what he hopes is a representative sample from categories 1 and 2 which account for ~75% of the particles, then just multiplied by 1500."
4. ^ "Hayabusa2 returned with 5 grams of asteroid soil, far more than target". Archived from the original on 1 October 2023.
5. ^ "NASA Announces OSIRIS-REx Bulk Sample Mass". 15 February 2024. Archived from the original on 21 June 2024.
6. ^ "Cost of OSIRIS-REx". The Planetary Society. Archived from the original on 2021-06-02. Retrieved 2021-05-31.
7. ^ "NASA's OSIRIS-REx Achieves Sample Mass Milestone – OSIRIS-REx Mission". blogs.nasa.gov. 2023-10-20. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
8. ^ "14. Google Books", United States v. Apple, Harvard University Press, pp. 164–170, 2019-12-31, doi:10.4159/9780674243286-015, ISBN 9780674243286, S2CID 242411308, retrieved 2022-04-26.
9. ^ Nourse, Alan E. (1959). Scavengers in space. David McKay Co. OCLC 55200836.
10. ^ Leinster, Murray (1967). Miners in the Sky. Avon Books. ISBN 978-0-7221-5482-3.
11. ^ Novak, Matt. "Asteroid mining's peculiar past". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2022-05-08.
12. ^ "July 20, 1969: One Giant Leap For Mankind - NASA". 2019-07-20. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
13. ^ a b O'Leary, Brian (1977-07-22). "Mining the Apollo and Amor Asteroids". Science. 197 (4301): 363–366. doi:10.1126/science.197.4301.363. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 17797966. S2CID 37982824.
14. ^ Fanale, F. P. (1978-01-01). "Science rationale for an initial asteroid-dedicated mission". NASA, Washington Asteroids. 2053: 193. Bibcode:1978NASCP2053..193F.
15. ^ "The utilization of nonterrestrial materials". 1981-03-01.
16. ^ O'Leary, Brian (1988). "Asteroid mining and the moons of Mars". Acta Astronautica. 17 (4): 457–462. Bibcode:1988AcAau..17..457O. doi:10.1016/0094-5765(88)90059-8.
17. ^ Leonard, Raymond S.; Johnson, Stewart W. (1988-01-01). "Power requirements for mining and microwave processing of extraterrestrial resources". New Mexico Univ., Transactions of the Fifth Symposium on Space Nuclear Power Systems: 71. Bibcode:1988snps.symp...71L.
18. ^ "Nonterrestrial utilization of materials: Automated space manufacturing facility". Advan. Automation for Space Missions: 77. 1982-11-01. Bibcode:1982aasm.nasa...77.
19. ^ Radovich, Brian M.; Carlson, Alan E.; Date, Medha D.; Duarte, Manny G.; Erian, Neil F.; Gafka, George K.; Kappler, Peter H.; Patano, Scott J.; Perez, Martin; Ponce, Edgar (1992-01-01). "Asteroid exploration and utilization". USRA, Proceedings of the 8th Annual Summer Conference: NASA (USRA Advanced Design Program).
20. ^ Creola, Peter (1996-08-01). "Space and the fate of humanity". Space Policy. 12 (3): 193–201. Bibcode:1996SpPol..12..193C. doi:10.1016/0265-9646(96)00018-5. ISSN 0265-9646.
21. ^ Lewis, John S. (1992-01-01). "Asteroid resources". NASA. Johnson Space Center, Space Resources. Volume 3: Materials.
22. ^ "How the asteroid-mining bubble burst". MIT Technology Review. Archived from the original on 2021-04-16. Retrieved 2021-05-31.
23. ^ "The Mineral Supply Chain and the New Space Race | Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee | House Committee on Natural Resources". naturalresources.house.gov. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
24. ^ O’Callaghan, Jonathan (2023-12-27). "The First Secret Asteroid Mission Won't Be the Last". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
25. ^ BRIAN O'LEARY; MICHAEL J. GAFFEY; DAVID J. ROSS & ROBERT SALKELD (1979). "Retrieval of Asteroidal Materials". SPACE RESOURCES and SPACE SETTLEMENTS,1977 Summer Study at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California. NASA. Archived from the original on 2019-05-24. Retrieved 2011-09-29.
26. ^ a b Valentine, Lee (2002). "A Space Roadmap: Mine the Sky, Defend the Earth, Settle the Universe". Space Studies Institute. Archived from the original on August 7, 2019. Retrieved September 19, 2011.
27. ^ Massonnet, Didier; Meyssignac, Benoit (2006). "A captured asteroid : Our David's stone for shielding earth and providing the cheapest extraterrestrial material". Acta Astronautica. 59 (1–5): 77–83. Bibcode:2006AcAau..59...77M. doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2006.02.030.
28. ^ a b Lewis, John S. (1997). Mining the Sky: Untold Riches from the Asteroids, Comets, and Planets. Perseus. ISBN 978-0-201-32819-6. Archived from the original on 2012-05-06. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
29. ^ a b Brophy, John; Culick, Fred; Friedman, Louis; et al. (12 April 2012). "Asteroid Retrieval Feasibility Study" (PDF). Keck Institute for Space Studies, California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 May 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
30. ^ University of Toronto (2009-10-19). "Geologists Point To Outer Space As Source Of The Earth's Mineral Riches". ScienceDaily. Archived from the original on 2019-12-16. Retrieved 2018-03-09.
31. ^ Brenan, James M.; McDonough, William F. (2009). "Core formation and metal–silicate fractionation of osmium and iridium from gold" (PDF). Nature Geoscience. 2 (11): 798–801. Bibcode:2009NatGe...2..798B. doi:10.1038/ngeo658. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-06.
32. ^ Willbold, Matthias; Elliott, Tim; Moorbath, Stephen (2011). "The tungsten isotopic composition of the Earth's mantle before the terminal bombardment". Nature. 477 (7363): 195–198. Bibcode:2011Natur.477..195W. doi:10.1038/nature10399. PMID 21901010. S2CID 4419046.
33. ^ Klemm, D. D.; Snethlage, R.; Dehm, R. M.; Henckel, J.; Schmidt-Thomé, R. (1982). "The Formation of Chromite and Titanomagnetite Deposits within the Bushveld Igneous Complex". Ore Genesis. Special Publication of the Society for Geology Applied to Mineral Deposits. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. pp. 351–370. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-68344-2_35. ISBN 9783642683466.
34. ^ Almécija, Clara; Cobelo-García, Antonio; Wepener, Victor; Prego, Ricardo (2017-05-01). "Platinum group elements in stream sediments of mining zones: The Hex River (Bushveld Igneous Complex, South Africa)". Journal of African Earth Sciences. 129: 934–943. Bibcode:2017JAfES.129..934A. doi:10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2017.02.002. hdl:10261/192883. ISSN 1464-343X.
35. ^ Rauch, Sebastien; Fatoki, Olalekan S. (2015). "Impact of Platinum Group Element Emissions from Mining and Production Activities". Platinum Metals in the Environment. Environmental Science and Engineering. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. pp. 19–29. doi:10.1007/978-3-662-44559-4_2. ISBN 9783662445587. S2CID 73528299.
36. ^ Rauch, Sebastien; Fatoki, Olalekan S. (2013-01-01). "Anthropogenic Platinum Enrichment in the Vicinity of Mines in the Bushveld Igneous Complex, South Africa". Water, Air, & Soil Pollution. 224 (1): 1395. Bibcode:2013WASP..224.1395R. doi:10.1007/s11270-012-1395-y. ISSN 0049-6979. S2CID 97231760.
37. ^ Marchis, F.; et al. (2006). "A low density of 0.8 g cm−3 for the Trojan binary asteroid 617 Patroclus". Nature. 439 (7076): 565–567. arXiv:astro-ph/0602033. Bibcode:2006Natur.439..565M. doi:10.1038/nature04350. PMID 16452974. S2CID 4416425.
38. ^ a b c "Plans for asteroid mining emerge". BBC News. 24 April 2012. Archived from the original on 2019-12-31. Retrieved 2012-04-24.
39. ^ "Evidence of asteroid mining in our galaxy may lead to the discovery of extraterrestrial civilizations". Smithsonian Science. Smithsonian Institution. 2011-04-05. Archived from the original on 2011-04-08.
40. ^ Gilster, Paul (2011-03-29). "Asteroid Mining: A Marker for SETI?". www.centauri-dreams.org. Archived from the original on 2019-12-26. Retrieved 2019-12-26.
41. ^ Marchis, Franck; Hestroffer, Daniel; Descamps, Pascal; Berthier, Jerome; Bouchez, Antonin H; Campbell, Randall D; Chin, Jason C. Y; van Dam, Marcos A; Hartman, Scott K; Johansson, Erik M; Lafon, Robert E; David Le Mignant; Imke de Pater; Stomski, Paul J; Summers, Doug M; Vachier, Frederic; Wizinovich, Peter L; Wong, Michael H (2011). "Extrasolar Asteroid Mining as Forensic Evidence for Extraterrestrial Intelligence". International Journal of Astrobiology. 10 (4): 307–313. arXiv:1103.5369. Bibcode:2011IJAsB..10..307F. doi:10.1017/S1473550411000127. S2CID 119111392.
42. ^ a b c d Harris, Stephen (2013-04-16). "Your questions answered: asteroid mining". The Engineer. Archived from the original on 2015-09-06. Retrieved 2013-04-16.
43. ^ Ross, Shane D. (2001-12-14). Near-Earth asteroid mining (PDF) (Report). California Institute of Technology. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-10-12. Retrieved 2019-12-26.
44. ^ a b c "M-Type Asteroids – Astronomy Source". astronomysource.com. 21 August 2012. Archived from the original on 23 November 2018. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
45. ^ Mohan, Keerthi (2012-08-13). "New Class of Easily Retrievable Asteroids That Could Be Captured With Rocket Technology Found". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 2018-11-06. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
46. ^ Powell, Corey S. (2013-08-14). "Developing Early Warning Systems for Killer Asteroids". Discover Magazine. Archived from the original on 2017-05-23. Retrieved 2019-12-26.
47. ^ "The Sentinel Mission". B612 Foundation. Archived from the original on September 10, 2012. Retrieved September 19, 2012.
48. ^ Broad, William J. Vindication for Entrepreneurs Watching Sky: Yes, It Can Fall Archived 2020-12-10 at the Wayback Machine, The New York Times website, February 16, 2013 and in print on February 17, 2013, p. A1 of the New York edition. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
49. ^ "B612 Presses Ahead with Asteroid Mission Despite Setbacks". 20 October 2015.
50. ^ "B612 studying smallsat missions to search for near Earth objects". 20 June 2017.
51. ^ "In-Space Manufacturing". NASA. 25 April 2019. Archived from the original on 2020-12-24. Retrieved 2021-01-17.
52. ^ "Mining rocks in orbit could aid deep space exploration". Science Daily. November 10, 2020. Archived from the original on February 12, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2021. "The first mining experiments conducted in space could pave the way for new technologies to help humans explore and establish settlements on distant worlds, a study suggests."
53. ^ Durda, Daniel. "Mining Near-Earth Asteroids". nss.org. National Space Society. Archived from the original on 21 July 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
54. ^ Crandall, W. B. C.; et al. (2009). "Why Space, Recommendations to the Review of United States Human Space Flight Plans Committee" (PDF). NASA Document Server. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-06-04. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
55. ^ Planetary Resources, Inc. Press Conference, April 24, 2012 (Part 1 of 8). Retrieved 2024-04-06 - via www.youtube.com.
56. ^ Lendon, Brad (24 April 2012). "Companies plan to mine precious metals in space". CNN News. Archived from the original on 2012-04-27. Retrieved 2012-04-24.
57. ^ Lewin, Sarah (2015-07-17). "Asteroid Mining Company's 1st Satellite Launches from Space Station". Space.com. Retrieved 2024-04-06.
58. ^ Wallpublished, Mike (2018-04-25). "Asteroid Miners' Arkyd-6 Satellite Aces Big Test in Space". Space.com. Retrieved 2024-04-06.
59. ^ "Everything must boldly go! Defunct asteroid mining company's hardware put up for auction". 4 June 2020. Archived from the original on 1 May 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
60. ^ "After buying Planetary Resources, ConsenSys sets its space ideas free – but will sell off the hardware". May 2020.
61. ^ Soper, Taylor (January 22, 2013). "Deep Space Industries entering asteroid-mining world, creates competition for Planetary Resources". GeekWire: Dispatches from the Digital Frontier. GeekWire. Archived from the original on January 23, 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
62. ^ "Commercial Asteroid Hunters announce plans for new Robotic Exploration Fleet" (Press release). Deep Space Industries. January 22, 2013. Archived from the original on January 23, 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
63. ^ Wall, Mike (January 22, 2013). "Asteroid-Mining Project Aims for Deep-Space Colonies". Space.com. TechMediaNetwork. Archived from the original on January 22, 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
64. ^ "Deep Space Industries to provide Comet satellite propulsion for BlackSky, LeoStella". 2018-04-06. Archived from the original on 6 April 2018. Retrieved 2022-06-06.
65. ^ "Deep Space Industries acquired by Bradford Space". SpaceNews. 2 January 2019.
66. ^ "Current ISDC 2013 Speakers". nss.org. August 2018. Archived from the original on 2013-09-22. Retrieved 2014-02-03.
67. ^ Robotic Asteroid Prospector (RAP) Staged from L-1: Start of the Deep Space Economy, Archived 2014-02-21 at the Wayback Machine. nasa.gov, accessed 2012-09-11.
68. ^ "Apis Flight Systems". TransAstra Corporation. Archived from the original on 2021-06-08. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
69. ^ Berger, Eric (2022-05-31). "AstroForge aims to succeed where other asteroid mining companies have failed". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2024-04-06.
70. ^ R. Gertsch and L. Gertsch, "Economic analysis tools for mineral projects in space, Archived 2014-12-24 at the Wayback Machine", Space Resources Roundtable, 1997.
71. ^ Kluger, Jeffrey (April 25, 2012). "Can James Cameron – Or Anyone – Really Mine Asteroids?". Time Science. Archived from the original on April 25, 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-25.
72. ^ Sonter, M. J. (1997). "The technical and economic feasibility of mining the near-earth asteroids". Acta Astronautica. 41 (4–10): 637–647. Bibcode:1997AcAau..41..637S. doi:10.1016/S0094-5765(98)00087-3. Archived from the original on 2019-08-02. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
73. ^ Busch, M. (2004). "Profitable Asteroid Mining". Journal of the British Interplanetary Society. 57: 301. Bibcode:2004JBIS...57..301B.
74. ^ Sonter, Mark. "Mining Economics and Risk-Control in the Development of Near-Earth-Asteroid Resources". Space Future. Archived from the original on 2006-10-29. Retrieved 2006-06-08.
75. ^ "Asteroid Mining". nova.org. Archived from the original on 2011-12-13. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
76. ^ "World Produces 1.05 Billion Tonnes of Steel in 2004, Archived March 31, 2006, at the Wayback Machine", International Iron and Steel Institute, 2005.
77. ^ Lu, Anne (2015-04-21). "Asteroid Mining Could Be The Next Frontier For Resource Mining". International Business Times Australia Edition. Archived from the original on 2018-04-12. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
78. ^ "Tech billionaires bankroll gold rush to mine asteroids". Reuters. 2012-04-24. Archived from the original on 2019-06-02. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
79. ^ Suciu, Peter (2012-04-24). "Asteroid Mining Venture Could Change Supply/Demand Ratio On Earth". RedOrbit. Archived from the original on 2012-05-01. Retrieved 2012-04-28.
80. ^ a b Ostro, Steven J.; Sagan, Carl (1998), "Cosmic Collisions and the Longevity of Non-Spacefaring Galactic Civilizations" (PDF), Interplanetary Collision Hazards, Pasadena, California, USA: Jet Propulsion Laboratory – NASA, archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-04-08, retrieved 2017-04-07.
81. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Lee, Ricky J. (2012). Law and regulation of commercial mining of minerals in outer space. Dordrecht: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-94-007-2039-8. ISBN 978-94-007-2039-8. OCLC 780068323.
82. ^ Howell, Elizabeth (2015-05-06). "Roadmap for Manned Missions to Mars Reaching 'Consensus,' NASA Chief Says". Space.com. Archived from the original on 2019-12-30. Retrieved 2020-01-01. "We really are trying to demonstrate we can develop the technologies and the techniques to help commercial companies, entrepreneurs and others get to asteroids and mine them."
83. ^ Webster, Ian. "Asteroid Database and Mining Rankings – Asterank". asterank.com. Archived from the original on 11 February 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
84. ^ Sonter, M. J. (1997-08-01). "The technical and economic feasibility of mining the near-earth asteroids" (PDF). Acta Astronautica. Developing Business. 41 (4): 637–647. Bibcode:1997AcAau..41..637S. doi:10.1016/S0094-5765(98)00087-3. ISSN 0094-5765. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-07-23. Retrieved 2019-12-26.
85. ^ a b Hein, Andreas M.; Matheson, Robert; Fries, Dan (2019-05-10). "A techno-economic analysis of asteroid mining". Acta Astronautica. 168: 104–115. arXiv:1810.03836. doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2019.05.009. ISSN 0094-5765. S2CID 53481045.
86. ^ Mandelbaum, Ryan F. (2018-02-18). "Falcon Heavy May Have Drastically Increased the Number of Asteroids We Can Mine". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on 2018-02-18. Retrieved 2018-02-19.
87. ^ "Codes Display Text". Archived from the original on 2020-06-17. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
88. ^ "Potato-Shaped Mars Moon Phobos May be a Captured Asteroid". Space.com. 15 January 2014.
89. ^ "NASA Continues Psyche Asteroid Mission". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. October 28, 2022.
90. ^ "Could We Use Mars as a Base for Asteroid Mining?". 21 June 2022.
91. ^ Taylor, Anthony J.; McDowell, Jonathan C.; Elvis, Martin (2022). "Phobos and Mars orbit as a base for asteroid exploration and mining". Planetary and Space Science. 214: 105450. Bibcode:2022P&SS..21405450T. doi:10.1016/j.pss.2022.105450. S2CID 247275237.
92. ^ "Space Mining: Scientists Discover Two Asteroids Whose Precious Metals Would Exceed Global Reserves". Forbes.
93. ^ "Hubble Examines Massive Metal Asteroid Called 'Psyche' That's Worth Way More Than Our Global Economy". Forbes.
94. ^ "NASA Heads for 'Psyche,' A Mysterious Metallic Asteroid That Could be the Heart of a Dead Planet". Forbes.
95. ^ Weinstein, Leonard M. Space Colonization Using Space-Elevators from Phobos (PDF) (Report). NASA. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
96. ^ "Space Law". United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. Archived from the original on 13 September 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
97. ^ Asteroid mining made legal after passing of ‘historic’ space bill in US, Archived 2018-02-19 at the Wayback Machine, telegraph.co.uk, accessed 19 Feb 2018.
98. ^ a b de Selding, Peter B. (2016-02-03). "Luxembourg to invest in space-based asteroid mining". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2018-02-19. "The Luxembourg government on Feb. 3 announced it would seek to jump-start an industrial sector to mine asteroid resources in space by creating regulatory and financial incentives."
99. ^ Ostro, Steven and Sagan, Carl (1998-08-04). "Cambridge Conference Correspondence". uga.edu. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
100. ^ Sagan, Carl; Ostro, Steven J. (1994-04-07). "Dangers of asteroid deflection". Nature. 368 (6471): 501–2. Bibcode:1994Natur.368Q.501S. doi:10.1038/368501a0. PMID 8139682. S2CID 38478106.
101. ^ Stephan Hobe, “Adequacy of the Current Legal and Regulatory Framework Relating to the Extraction and Appropriation of Natural Resources”, McGill Institute of Air & Space Law, Annals of Air and Space Law, 32 (2007): 115–130.
102. ^ a b "Agreement governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies". United Nations. Archived from the original on 2016-10-21. Retrieved 2014-12-05.
103. ^ Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies., Archived 2019-11-18 at the Wayback Machine, Resolution 34/68 Adopted by the General Assembly. 89th plenary meeting; 5 December 1979.
104. ^ "Common Pool Lunar Resources.", Archived 2020-07-25 at the Wayback Machine, J. K. Schingler and A. Kapoglou. Lunar ISRU 2019: Developing a New Space Economy Through Lunar Resources and Their Utilization. July 15–17, 2019, Columbia, Maryland.
105. ^ Fabio Tronchetti. Current International Legal Framework Applicability to Space Resource Activities. Archived 2020-10-20 at the Wayback Machine, IISL/ECSL Space Law Symposium 2017, Vienna, Austria, 27 March 2017.
106. ^ Simply fix the Moon Treaty. Archived 2019-11-06 at the Wayback Machine, Vidvuds Beldavs, The Space Review. 15 January 2018.
107. ^ Listner, Michael (24 October 2011). "The Moon Treaty: failed international law or waiting in the shadows?". The Space Review. Archived from the original on 15 October 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
108. ^ "The Space Review: The Moon Treaty: Failed international law or waiting in the shadows?". Archived from the original on 2020-05-10. Retrieved 2020-04-10.
109. ^ "Luxembourg plans to pioneer asteroid mining". ABC News. 2016-02-03. Archived from the original on 2017-05-29. Retrieved 2016-02-08. "The Government said it planned to create a legal framework for exploiting resources beyond Earth's atmosphere, and said it welcomed private investors and other nations."
110. ^ de Selding, Peter B. (2016-06-03). "Luxembourg invests to become the 'Silicon Valley of space resource mining'". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2016-06-04.
111. ^ "Luxembourg vies to become the Silicon Valley of asteroid mining". CNBC. 2018-04-16. Archived from the original on 2018-04-22. Retrieved 2018-04-21.
112. ^ A legal framework for space exploration Archived 2018-08-14 at the Wayback Machine, 13 July 2017.
113. ^ "If space is 'the province of mankind', who owns its resources?". Archived from the original on 2020-05-10. Retrieved 2020-04-10.
114. ^ Foust, Jeff (2018-09-13). "Luxembourg establishes space agency and new fund". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
115. ^ Jamasmie, Cecilia (18 November 2020). "Luxembourg to set up Europe space mining centre". mining.com. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
116. ^ Hardy, Michael (29 August 2019). "Luxembourg's Bold Plan to Mine Asteroids for Rare Minerals". wired.com. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
117. ^ H.R.2262 – SPACE Act of 2015 Archived 2015-11-19 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 14 September 2015.
118. ^ Fung, Brian (2015-05-22). "The House just passed a bill about space mining. The future is here". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2015-11-22. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
119. ^ American 'space pioneers' deserve asteroid rights, Congress says, Archived 2016-12-09 at the Wayback Machine, theguardian.com.
120. ^ Asteroid mining made legal after passing of ‘historic’ space bill in US, Archived 2018-02-19 at the Wayback Machine, telegraph.co.uk.
121. ^ "President Obama Signs Bill Recognizing Asteroid Resource Property Rights into Law". planetaryresources.com. Archived from the original on 26 November 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
122. ^ "White House looks for international support for space resource rights". 7 April 2020.
123. ^ "Executive Order on Encouraging International Support for the Recovery and Use of Space Resources". whitehouse.gov. Archived from the original on 2021-01-20. Retrieved 2021-02-25 - via National Archives.
124. ^ Metzger, Philip (August 2016). "Space Development and Space Science Together, an Historic Opportunity". Space Policy. 37 (2): 77–91. arXiv:1609.00737. Bibcode:2016SpPol..37...77M. doi:10.1016/j.spacepol.2016.08.004. S2CID 118612272.
125. ^ Hein, Andreas Makoto; Saidani, Michael; Tollu, Hortense (2018). Exploring Potential Environmental Benefits of Asteroid Mining. 69th International Astronautical Congress 2018. Bremen, Germany. arXiv:1810.04749.
126. ^ Ridenoure, Rex. "NEAP: 15 years later". The Space Review. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
127. ^ "SpaceDev Sells Ride to Asteroid". nasa jpl. July 20, 1999. Archived from the original on January 23, 2000.
128. ^ "NEAP". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on February 26, 2012. Retrieved February 11, 2012.
129. ^ "In Depth | OSIRIS-REx". NASA Solar System Exploration. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
130. ^ Shekhtman, Lonnie (September 24, 2023). "OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Departs for New Mission". Nasa Blogs. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
131. ^ Both asteroid and comet missions are shown.
132. ^ TechNovelGy timeline, Asteroid Mining, Archived March 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
133. ^ Garrett P. Serviss, Edison's Conquest of Mars at Project Gutenberg, Archived 2011-10-12 at the Wayback Machine.

### Publications

[edit]

* Space Enterprise: Beyond NASA / David Gump (1990) ISBN 0-275-93314-8.
* Mining the Sky: Untold Riches from the Asteroids, Comets, and Planets / John S. Lewis (1998) ISBN 0-201-47959-1
* Lee, Ricky J. (2012). Law and regulation of commercial mining of minerals in outer space. Dordrecht: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-94-007-2039-8. ISBN 978-94-007-2039-8. OCLC 780068323.
* Viorel Badescu: Asteroids – prospective energy and material resources. Springer, Berlin, Germany, 2013, ISBN 978-3-642-39243-6.
* Ram Jakhu, et al.: Space Mining and Its Regulation. Springer, Cham 2016, ISBN 978-3-319-39245-5.
* Annette Froehlich: Space Resource Utilization: A View from an Emerging Space Faring Nation. Springer, Cham 2018, ISBN 978-3-319-66968-7.

## External links

[edit]

Asteroid mining at Wikipedia's sister projects

* Media from Commons
* Quotations from Wikiquote
* Textbooks from Wikibooks
* Resources from Wikiversity

### Text

[edit]

* The Technical and Economic Feasibility of Mining the Near-Earth Asteroids, M. J. Sonter
* Michael Booth: The Future of Space Mining (December 21, 1995)
* The Plan to Bring an Asteroid to Earth
* How Asteroids can save mankind
* Luxembourg aims to be big player in possible asteroid mining, The Guardian, February 2016
* Blair, Brad R. (2000). "The Role of Near-Earth Asteroids in Long-Term Platinum Supply" (PDF). Space Resources Roundtable II. 1 (1070): 5. Bibcode:2000srrt.conf....5B. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-12-12. Retrieved 2016-10-08.

### Video

[edit]

* Video Beyond Earth – NEO Destinations, NewSpace Conference of the Space Frontier Foundation, Aug 7, 2011
* Video Moon, Mars, Asteroids – Where to Go First for Resources? Space manufacturing Conference of the Space Studies Institute, October 2010
* Video Moving An Asteroid, California Institute of Technology, Workshop Public Lecture Panel, September 2011
* Video Asteroid Mining – The Market Problem and Radical Solution, November 2013

* v
* t
* e

Asteroids

Main|

* Notable asteroids
* Physical characteristics
* dynamic method
* Impact avoidance
* Tracking
* Gravitational keyhole
* Earth-crosser
* Close approaches
* Binary
* moon
* contact
* Active
* Asteroid pair
* Palomar–Leiden survey
* Contact binary

Distribution|

* Trojans
* Venus trojan
* Earth trojans
* Mars trojans
* Jupiter trojans
* Uranus trojans
* Neptune trojans
* Interior to Earth
* Vulcanoids
* Mercury-crossers
* Venus-crossers
* Near-Earth
* Aten
* Amor
* Apollo
* Atira
* Earth-crossers
* Between Earth and the main belt
* Mars crossers
* Asteroid belt
* Kirkwood gap
* Active asteroids
* Outer Solar System, does not include distant minor planets
* Jupiter-crossers
* Saturn-crossers
* Uranus-crossers
* Neptune-crossers
* Centaurs
* Exoasteroids

Classification|

| Orbital|

* Group
* Family
* (list)

|

Spectral|

| Tholen|

* C-group
* B-type
* F-type
* G-type
* C-type
* S-type
* X-group
* M-type
* E-type
* P-type

* small classes
* A-type
* D-type
* J-type
* T-type
* Q-type
* R-type
* V-type

|

SMASS|

* C-group
* B-type
* C-type
* Cg
* Ch
* Cgh
* Cb
* S-group
* A-type
* Q-type
* R-type
* K-type
* L-type
* S-type
* Sa
* Sq
* Sr
* Sk
* Sl

* X-group
* X-type
* Xe
* Xc
* Xk
* small types
* T-type
* D-type
* Ld-type
* O-type
* V-type

Exploration|

* Asteroids visited by spacecraft
* Mining
* Capture
* Colonization

Lists|

* Near-Earth
* Minor planets
* Lost
* Discovering observatories
* Space missions

Related|

* Asteroid Day
* Asteroids in fiction
* Asteroids in astrology
* occultation

* Comet
* Minor planet

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Solar System

* Sun
* Mercury
* Venus
* Earth
* Mars
* Ceres
* Jupiter
* Saturn
* Uranus
* Neptune
* Orcus
* Pluto
* Haumea
* Quaoar
* Makemake
* Gonggong
* Eris
* Sedna

| Planets,
dwarfs|

* Terrestrials
* Mercury
* Venus
* Earth
* Mars
* Giants
* Gas
* Jupiter
* Saturn
* Ice
* Uranus
* Neptune
* Dwarfs
* Ceres
* Orcus
* Pluto
* Haumea
* Quaoar
* Makemake
* Gonggong
* Eris
* Sedna

|

Moons|

* Earth
* Moon
* other near-Earth objects
* Mars
* Phobos
* Deimos
* Jupiter
* Ganymede
* Callisto
* Io
* Europa
* all 95
* Saturn
* Titan
* Rhea
* Iapetus
* Dione
* Tethys
* Enceladus
* Mimas
* Hyperion
* Phoebe
* all 146
* Uranus
* Titania
* Oberon
* Umbriel
* Ariel
* Miranda
* all 28
* Neptune
* Triton
* Proteus
* Nereid
* all 16
* Orcus
* Vanth
* Pluto
* Charon
* Nix
* Hydra
* Kerberos
* Styx
* Haumea
* Hiʻiaka
* Namaka
* Quaoar
* Weywot
* Makemake
* S/2015 (136472) 1
* Gonggong
* Xiangliu
* Eris
* Dysnomia

Rings|

* Earth?
* Jovian
* Saturnian (Rhean?)
* Charikloan
* Chironean
* Uranian
* Neptunian
* Haumean
* Quaoarian

Small
Solar
System
bodies|

* Comets
* Damocloids
* Meteoroids
* Minor planets
* names and meanings
* moons
* Planetesimal
* Planetary orbit-crossing minor planets
* Mercury
* Venus
* Earth
* Mars
* Jupiter
* Saturn
* Uranus
* Neptune
* Trojans
* Venus
* Earth
* Mars
* Jupiter
* Trojan camp
* Greek camp
* Saturn Moons
* Uranus
* Neptune
* Near-Earth objects
* Asteroid belt
* Asteroids
* Ceres
* Vesta
* Pallas
* Hygiea
* active
* first 1000
* families
* PHA
* exceptional
* Kirkwood gap
* Centaurs
* Neptune trojans
* Trans-Neptunian objects
* Kuiper belt
* Cubewanos
* Plutinos
* Detached objects
* Sednoids
* Scattered disc
* Oort cloud
* Hills cloud

| Hypothetical
objects|

* Fifth giant
* Nemesis
* Phaeton
* Planet Nine
* Planet V
* Planet X
* Subsatellites
* Theia
* Tyche
* Vulcan
* Vulcanoids

|

Exploration
(outline)|

* Colonization
* Discovery
* astronomy
* historical models
* timeline
* Space probes
* timeline
* list
* Human spaceflight
* space stations
* list
* programs
* Mercury
* Venus
* Moon
* mining
* Mars
* Ceres
* Asteroids
* mining
* Comets
* Jupiter
* Saturn
* Uranus
* Neptune
* Pluto
* Deep space

Formation,
evolution|

* Star formation
* Accretion
* Accretion disk
* Excretion disk
* Circumplanetary disk
* Circumstellar disc
* Circumstellar envelope
* Coatlicue
* Cosmic dust
* Debris disk
* Detached object
* EXCEDE
* Exozodiacal dust
* Extraterrestrial materials
* Sample curation
* Sample-return mission
* Frost/Ice/Snow line
* Giant-impact hypothesis
* Gravitational collapse
* Hills cloud
* Hill sphere
* Interplanetary dust cloud
* Interplanetary medium/space
* Interstellar cloud
* Interstellar medium
* Interstellar space
* Kuiper belt
* Kuiper cliff
* Molecular cloud
* Nebular hypothesis
* Oort cloud
* Outer space
* Planet
* Disrupted
* Migration
* System
* Planetesimal
* Formation
* Merging stars
* Protoplanetary disk
* Ring system
* Roche limit
* vs. Hill sphere
* Rubble pile
* Scattered disc

Lists|

* Comets
* Possible dwarf planets
* Gravitationally rounded objects
* Minor planets
* Natural satellites
* Solar System models
* Solar System objects
* by size
* by discovery date
* Interstellar and circumstellar molecules

Related|

* Double planet
* Lagrange point
* Moonlet
* Syzygy
* Tidal locking

* Outline of the Solar System
* Solar System portal
* Astronomy portal
* Earth sciences portal

Solar System → Local Interstellar Cloud → Local Bubble → Gould Belt → Orion Arm → Milky Way → Milky Way subgroup → Local Group → Local Sheet → Virgo Supercluster → Laniakea Supercluster → Local Hole → Observable universe → Universe
Each arrow (→) may be read as "within" or "part of".

* v
* t
* e

... in space

Biology|

| Human|

* The human body
* Hygiene
* Locomotion
* Medicine
* Neuroscience
* Psychology
* Psychological and sociological effects
* Sex
* Sleep

|

Non-human|

* Animals
* Cats
* Cockroaches
* Dogs
* Frogs
* Fruit flies
* Mice
* Primates
* Tortoises
* Extraterrestrial life
* Microorganisms
* Plants
* Astrobotany

Environment|

* Climate
* Corrosion
* Debris
* Dust
* Magnetosphere
* Weather
* Weathering

Society|

* Advertising
* Alcohol
* Archaeology
* of Earth
* of items in space
* Art
* Burial
* Colonization
* Economy
* Mining
* Trade
* Ethics
* Exploration
* Food
* Law
* Military
* Music
* Religion
* Christmas
* Selfies
* Tourism
* Voting
* War
* Women

Technology|

| Human spaceflight|

* Accidents
* Architecture
* Farming
* Food
* Carbonated drinks
* Toilets
* Writing

|

Other technologies|

* Logistics
* Manufacturing
* Mining
* Power
* Batteries
* Nuclear
* Solar
* for Earth
* for spacecraft
* Radar
* Telescopes
* Weapons

Outer space portal

* v
* t
* e

Space colonization

Core concepts|

* Interplanetary spaceflight
* Interstellar travel
* Intergalactic travel
* Planetary habitability
* Space and survival
* Space settlement
* Terraforming

Space habitats|

* Bishop Ring
* McKendree cylinder
* O'Neill cylinder
* Stanford torus

Colonization targets|

* Lagrange points
* Solar System
* Mercury
* Venus
* Mars
* Asteroids
* mining
* Moon
* Titan
* Trans-Neptunian objects
* Free space

Terraforming targets|

* Mars
* Venus
* Europa

Organizations|

* Mars Society
* NASA
* National Space Society
* SpaceX
* The Planetary Society

* v
* t
* e

Politics of outer space

* Spacefaring nations
* Space policy
* Space traffic management
* Space debris management
* Space Debris Working Group
* Space Debris Committee
* Planetary protection principle
* Post-detection policy
* Asteroid impact
* Prediction
* Avoidance
* Spaceguard
* The Spaceguard Foundation

Space races|

* Cold War space race
* Sputnik crisis
* Timeline
* Billionaire space race
* Mars race
* Records
* Space propaganda
* Space competition

Chinese
space program|

* Two Bombs, One Satellite doctrine (1966–1976)
* Shuguang program (1966–1972)
* Chinese ASAT program (1964–)
* 2007 test
* Project 921 (1992–)
* Shenzhou program
* Tiangong program
* Space station
* Chinese Lunar Exploration Program (2003–)
* Mars and beyond
* Planetary Exploration of China (2016–)
* MARS-500 study

ESA Science Programme|

* European Launcher Development Organisation (1960–1975)
* Europa launcher programme (1962–1973)
* European Space Research Organisation (1964–1975)
* European Space Agency (1975–)
* EU/ESA Space Council
* European Cooperation for Space Standardization
* European Space Research and Technology Centre
* Concurrent Design Facility
* European Astronaut Centre
* ESA Centre for Earth Observation
* Living Planet Programme
* European Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications
* European Data Relay System
* Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility (1983–2010)
* European Space Astronomy Centre (2005–)
* European Space Security and Education Centre
* European Space Operations Centre
* ESTRACK network
* Guiana Space Centre
* Ariane launcher programme (1973–)
* Vega launcher programme (1998–)
* European Space Policy Institute
* Space Situational Awareness Programme
* Future Launchers Preparatory Programme
* Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle
* PRIDE
* Space Rider
* ESA Television
* Mars and beyond
* Mars Exploration Joint Initiative
* MARS-500 study
* Aurora programme
* ExoMars

| Horizon 2000 (1985–1995)|

* SOHO
* Cassini–Huygens
* Huygens
* Cluster
* Cluster II
* XMM-Newton
* Rosetta
* INTEGRAL
* Herschel
* Planck

|

Horizon 2000 Plus (1995–2015)|

* ISS programme
* Politics
* Gaia
* LISA Pathfinder
* BepiColombo

Cosmic Vision (2015–2025)|

* Solar Orbiter
* Euclid
* ARIEL
* EnVision
* CHEOPS
* JUICE
* ATHENA
* LISA
* Comet Interceptor
* SMILE

EU Space Programme|

* Western European Union Satellite Centre (1992–2002)
* EU Satellite Centre (2002–)
* EU/ESA Space Council
* EU Commission DG Defence Industry and Space
* European GNSS Supervisory Authority (2004–2010)
* European GNSS Agency (2010–2021)
* EU Agency for the Space Programme (2021–)
* Galileo programme
* Copernicus programme
* EGNOS programme
* EUSST programme
* Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications
* European Union Aviation Safety Agency
* European Network of Civil Aviation Safety Investigation Authorities
* European Defence Agency
* Europe by Satellite

Other European
initiatives and bodies|

* AeroSpace and Defence Industries Association of Europe
* Eurospace
* Eurocontrol
* Council of Europe
* Council of European Aerospace Societies
* European Broadcasting Union
* European Civil Aviation Conference
* European Committee for Standardization/European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization
* European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations
* European Telecommunications Standards Institute
* European Organisation for Civil Aviation Equipment
* European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites
* European Patent Organisation
* European Patent Office
* European Telecommunications Satellite Organization
* European Southern Observatory
* Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

Indian space policy|

* Department of Space
* Indian Human Spaceflight Programme
* Space Activities Bill
* Indian ASAT programme
* Mission Shakti

British
space programme|

* Creation of the British National Committee for Space Research (1958)
* Start of the Ariel programme (1962)
* Black Arrow launcher (1964–1971)
* Creation of the British National Space Centre (1985)
* Outer Space Act 1986
* Project Juno (1991)
* Space Innovation and Growth Team (2009–2010)
* Creation of the UK Space Agency (2010)
* Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015
* Space Industry Act 2018
* UK Global Navigation Satellite System (2018–2020)
* 2021 Integrated Review
* Defence in a Competitive Age

US space policy|

| Truman
space policy|

* Operation Paperclip
* list of scientists
* Aerobee rocket program
* RAND
* Establishment of Cape Canaveral

|

Eisenhower
space policy|

* WS-117L
* Project Vanguard
* Sputnik crisis
* Introduction to Outer Space
* 1958 NASA Act
* Space Act Agreement
* Cancellation of Man in Space Soonest
* Launch of Project Mercury
* Missile gap
* Launch of X-15 program

Kennedy
space policy|

* Launch of the Mariner program
* Launch of the Gemini project
* Launch of the Apollo program
* "We choose to go to the Moon"

Johnson
space policy|

* 1967 Outer Space Treaty

Nixon
space policy|

* Moon landing
* Extra-Terrestrial Exposure Law
* Launch of the Space Shuttle Program
* Skylab

Ford
space policy|

* Apollo–Soyuz
* Launch of the Viking program

Carter
space policy|

Reagan
space policy|

* Citizens' Advisory Council
* Strategy of Technology doctrine
* Strategic Defense Initiative
* Space Station Freedom proposal
* 1984 Space Act
* 1985 anti-satellite missile test
* Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
* Rogers Report
* Ride Report

George H. W. Bush
space policy|

* Space Exploration Initiative
* 1990 Augustine Committee
* Hubble Space Telescope
* National Space Council

Clinton
space policy|

* Faster, better, cheaper
* Gore–Chernomyrdin Commission
* ISS
* Shuttle–Mir program
* ISS programme
* Politics
* Launch of the Mars Exploration Program
* 1998 Space Act
* Decadal Planning Team
* Launch of the X-37 program

George W. Bush
space policy|

* Aerospace Industry Commission
* 2002 National missile defense directive
* Space Shuttle Columbia disaster
* Vision for Space Exploration
* Aldridge Commission
* ESAS
* 2005 NASA Act
* Launch of the Constellation program
* Operation Burnt Frost

Obama
space policy|

* 2009 Augustine Committee
* Kennedy Space Center speech
* Cancellation of the Constellation program
* Launch of the Space Launch System program
* Redesign of the Orion program
* Flexible path
* Mars Exploration Joint Initiative
* 2010 NASA Act
* Title 51
* Space Shuttle retirement
* Development of the Commercial Crew Program
* 2014 NASA Act
* 2015 Space Act

Trump
space policy|

* Re-establishment of the National Space Council
* Creation of the Space Force
* Launch of the Artemis program
* Launch of the Lunar Gateway project
* Executive Order 13959

* China exclusion policy of NASA
* International Traffic in Arms Regulations
* Full-spectrum dominance doctrine
* Budget of NASA
* House Committee on Space
* NESDIS
* Office of Space Commerce
* FCC
* FAA/AST
* NRO
* IEEE
* Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society
* Antennas & Propagation Society
* Broadcast Technology Society
* Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society
* Vehicular Technology Society

USSR and Russia|

| Soviet
space
program|

| Stalin|

* Operation Osoaviakhim (1946)
* list of scientists

|

Khrushchev|

* Sputnik program
* Sputnik crisis (1957)
* Vostok program (1960–1963)
* Fractional Orbital Bombardment System (1960–1982)
* Soviet crewed lunar programs (1961–1976)
* Voskhod program (1964–1966)

Brezhnev|

* Soyuz program (1967–)
* Interkosmos (1967–1991)
* Salyut program (1971–1986)
* Almaz (1973–1977)
* Buran program (1974–1993)
* Apollo–Soyuz (1975)

Gorbachev|

* Mir (1986–2001)

Roscosmos|

| Yeltsin|

* Gore–Chernomyrdin Commission
* ISS (1993–)
* Shuttle–Mir program
* ISS programme
* Politics

|

Medvedev|

* Medvedev modernisation programme
* 2010 Military doctrine

Putin|

* United Rocket and Space Corporation (2013–2015)
* 2014 Military doctrine
* 2015 Creation of Roscosmos
* Mars
* MARS-500 study
* ExoMars

Other policies|

* Australian space program
* Brazilian space program
* Emirati space program
* Japanese space program
* Kazakh space program
* Kenyan space program
* Lebanese space program
* North Korean space program
* Pakistani space program
* Space programme 2040
* Philippine space program
* Ugandan space initiatives
* International Space Station programme
* Politics of the International Space Station

United Nations|

* International Civil Aviation Organization
* ITU-R
* Office for Outer Space Affairs
* UN-SPIDER
* Space Generation Advisory Council
* Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space
* General Assembly Fourth Committee

Other intergovernmental
or inter-agency bodies|

* African Space Agency
* Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems
* Committee on Earth Observation Satellites
* Committee on Space Research
* International Planetary Data Alliance
* International Cospas-Sarsat Programme
* Group on Earth Observations
* Global Standards Collaboration
* Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee
* International Charter 'Space and Major Disasters'
* International Mobile Satellite Organization
* International Space Exploration Coordination Group
* International Space Station Multilateral Coordination Board
* International Telecommunications Satellite Organization
* Intersputnik
* Orbital Debris Co-ordination Working Group
* Regional African Satellite Communication Organization
* Arab Satellite Communications Organization
* Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization

Space law|

* Partial Test Ban Treaty (1963)
* Outer Space Treaty (1967)
* Rescue Agreement (1968)
* Space Liability Convention (1972)
* US-USSR Cooperation Agreement (1972)
* Satellite Convention (1974)
* Registration Convention (1975)
* Bogota Declaration (1976)
* Moon Treaty (1979)
* Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space (1981)
* International Cospas-Sarsat Programme Agreement (1988)
* International Space Station Intergovernmental Agreement (1998)
* International Docking System Standard
* International Charter 'Space and Major Disasters' (1999)
* Cape Town Treaty, Space Assets protocol (2012)
* Artemis Accords (2020)
* Space jurisdiction
* Common heritage of mankind
* Extraterrestrial real estate
* Astronomical naming conventions
* ITU Radio Regulations
* CCSDS standards
* ODCWG standards
* CEOS standards
* COSPAR standards
* International Designator
* IPDA standards
* GSC standards
* GEO standards
* ISECG standards
* Various conventions, treaties, agreements, memorandums, charters or declarations establishing and governing intergovernmental organisations or inter-agency bodies dealing with space affairs

Commercial use|

* Space industry
* India
* Russia
* United Kingdom
* United States
* Private spaceflight
* Launch market competition
* Space tourism
* Space advertising
* Space technology
* Space-based economy
* Space trade
* Space manufacturing
* Lunar resources
* Project Harvest Moon
* Asteroid mining

Militarisation|

| Space forces,
units and formations|

* Space forces
* Australia
* Brazil
* Canada
* China
* Colombia
* France
* Germany
* Iran
* AJA
* IRGC
* Israel
* Japan
* Netherlands
* New Zealand
* North Korea
* Pakistan
* Russia
* South Korea
* Spain
* Thailand
* Turkey
* United Kingdom
* United States
* History
* Structure
* Vietnam
* Ranks and insignia
* Space commands
* France
* India
* Italy
* NATO
* NORAD
* United Kingdom
* United States

|

Space warfare|

* Space domain awareness
* Space weapon
* Anti-satellite weapon
* China
* India
* Russia
* United States
* Kinetic bombardment
* Kill vehicle
* Missile defense
* Military satellite
* Reconnaissance satellite
* Spaceplane
* Satellite jamming

Space advocacy|

* Air & Space Forces Association
* Alliance for Space Development
* National Space Society
* Space Frontier Foundation
* Mars Society
* Moon Society
* Students for the Exploration and Development of Space
* Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Modern Technologies
* British Interplanetary Society
* Coalition for Deep Space Exploration
* International Academy of Astronautics
* International Astronautical Federation
* International Astronomical Union
* Lunar Explorers Society
* Space Exploration Alliance
* Space Fellowship
* Space Force Association
* Space Foundation
* The Planetary Society

* v
* t
* e

Public-sector space agencies

Africa|

| Pan-African
and pan-Arab|

* RASCOM
* Arabsat

|

National|

* ASAL
* EgSA
* NARSS
* ESSTI
* GSSTC
* NASRDA
* SANSA

Americas|

| North America|

* CSA
* NASA
* NESDIS
* OSC
* FAA/AST
* FCC
* USSF
* USSPACECOM
* NRO

|

Latin America
and the Caribbean|

* ALCE
* AEM
* CONAE
* ABE
* AEB
* DCTA
* INPE
* ITA
* CCE
* ABAE
* IVIC

Asia|

| Pan-Asian|

* APSCO

|

Central Asia|

* KazCosmos1
* Roscosmos1
* SRI
* VK
* TNSA1

East Asia|

* CNSA
* SASTIND
* CASC
* CALT
* CAST
* CCF
* CGWIC
* PLAASF
* CASIC
* JAXA
* ISAS
* JSS
* NICT
* NATA
* KASA
* KARI
* KASI
* SaTReC
* TASA

South Asia|

* SPARRSO
* ISRO 2
* Antrix Corp
* DoS
* NRSC
* DSA
* SUPARCO

Southeast Asia|

* BRIN
* ORPA
* INASA
* MYSA
* PhilSA
* SSTL
* GISTDA
* VNSC

West Asia|

* ArmCosmos1
* MAKA1
* NSSA
* IRIAF
* NEHSA
* ISA
* ISRC
* ISA
* NCSR
* SSA
* KACST-SRI
* SSA2
* GORS
* TUA
* TÜBİTAK UZAY
* UAESA (MBRSC)

Europe|

| Pan-European|

* CEN/CENELEC
* CEPT
* ETSI
* Eurocontrol
* ECAC
* ESA
* ECSS
* ESTEC
* EAC
* ESRIN
* ECSAT
* ESAC
* ESOC
* ESTRACK
* Guiana Space Centre
* EUMETSAT
* EUTELSAT IGO
* ESO

|

EU and EEA|

* DG DEFIS
* EUSPA
* EU SatCen
* EASA
* BEREC
* ALR 2
* BELSPO
* BIRA-IASB
* SRTI2
* CSO2
* DTU Space
* ESO1
* CNES2
* AAE
* CdE
* DLR2
* HSA
* HSO2
* ASI
* LSA
* LSO1
* SRON
* NSO
* NOSA
* POLSA2
* CBK PAN
* UKE
* KRRiT
* ORO
* ULC
* PTSPACE
* ROSA2
* INTA
* AEC
* EAE
* AEE
* SNSA

Other|

* ArmCosmos1
* MAKA1
* BSA1
* KazCosmos1
* Roscosmos1
* SRI
* VVKO
* SSO
* TUA
* TÜBİTAK UZAY
* SSAU1
* UKSA 2

Oceania|

* ASA
* CSIRO
* NZSA

World|

* CCSDS
* CEOS
* COSPAR
* IPDA
* Cospas-Sarsat
* GEO
* GSC
* IADC
* ICSMD
* IMSO
* ISECG
* ISS MCB
* ITSO
* Intersputnik
* ODCWG
* ITU-R
* UNCOPUOS
* UNOOSA

Former|

* BNSC
* KCST
* LAPAN
* NAL
* NASDA
* SSP
* Interkosmos

* See also: Timeline of first orbital launches by country
* 1 Preceded by the Soviet space program
* 2 Preceded by Interkosmos participation

Portals:

* Astronomy
* Spaceflight
* Outer space
* Solar system

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template