Is it really cheaper to mine platinum from an asteroid? (+video)

Such platinum-group metals represent the main prize for Earth markets, said Joan-Pau Sanchez, a researcher in the Advanced Space Concepts Laboratory at the University of Strathclyde in the UK. He coauthored the Acta Astronautica paper.

"Platinum-group metals (PGMs) are likely to be the only material from asteroids that will prove economically viable to be transported back to Earth's commodity markets," Sanchez told InnovationnewsDaily. "PGMs are in high demand, and will be even more in the future."

Turning space rocks into riches

But the Planetary Resources group has its eyes on more than just platinum to strike it rich, Lewis said. He described using asteroid metals to build huge space stations or even space solar power stations for beaming energy down to Earth.

That could come from the abundant S-class asteroids — about 40 percent of the near-Earth objects — which hold metals, semiconductors, and even oxygen or water. One 79-foot (24-meter) asteroid of the S-class could provide 1,100 to 4,400 tons of iron for building the structural support for a huge solar array capable of making a gigawatt of power (as much as a large power plant) for either space stations or Earth, according to the Acta Astronautica paper.

A similar-size hydrated carbonaceous asteroid could hold a million liters of water (enough to fill half a million soft drink bottles). That would fall under the second big market envisioned by Planetary Resources — harvesting asteroid resources for use as rocket propellants, drinking water and oxygen to support space exploration missions.

"The billionaires who are standing behind this right now are not doing this for fun and recreation," Lewis said. "They see it as a great economic value in the long run, and I'm not surprised if more than one wants to make a dime out of it."

You can follow InnovationNewsDaily Senior Writer Jeremy Hsu on Twitter @ScienceHsu. Follow InnovationNewsDaily on Twitter @News_Innovation, or on Facebook.

• Asteroid Mining in Fiction, Past and Present
• Asteroid Mining Images: Planetary Resources' Plan to Tap Space Rock Riches
• The 7 Strangest Asteroids: Weird Space Rocks in Our Solar System

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