Asteroid mining

Asteroid mining is on its way.
A staple of ‘hard’ science fiction of the mid-20th century, dreams of exploiting the resources of the millions of rocks orbiting the sun moved a little closer with the announcement by a private company, Planetary Resources, plans to mine asteroids.

Business Insider quotes several experts saying that this is just ‘hot air’. Some observers point out that the venture relies on technologies that have not yet been developed, and are in fact not even in the pipeline. And indeed, it’s a good rule of thumb to steer clear of ventures that rely on technologies that don’t yet exist.

An article at Popular Mechanics suggests that the Moon is a better target for mining. It would be easier: or one thing, its closer and secondly its gravitational field would allow permanent equipment installation.

(more discussion at slashdot)