Launching spacecraft to mine resources from near-Earth asteroids

Planetary Resources Company (USA) has just launched a spacecraft to research and test the exploitation of minerals from near-Earth meteorites.

Simulation of a future asteroid mining spacecraft. Photo: Printf.eu

According to Science Alert, the American asteroid mining company Planetary Resources (PR) has just launched the prototype spacecraft Arkyd 3 Reflight (A3R) from the International Space Station (ISS) into orbit on July 16. It is essentially a small satellite with the mission of testing and researching the mining of resource-rich asteroids near Earth in the near future.

A3R will operate for 90 days, testing the company's control systems and electronics, and drawing lessons to refine the technology so that future spacecraft are truly capable of conducting space exploration.

“Our philosophy is to test regularly, and if possible, test live in space. A3R is the most sophisticated, cost-effective test vehicle ever built. We are innovating at every angle, from design to operations,” said Chris Lewicki, president of PR.

Financial investors in the company are Larry Page and Eric Schmidt of Google, and Richard Branson, founder and chairman of the Virgin Group.

"The successful deployment of A3R is a major milestone for the company. We are developing technologies to explore and mine asteroids, thereby creating an extraterrestrial economy that will change the way we live on Earth," said Peter H. Diamandis, co-founder of PR.

After A3R completes its mission later this year, Planetary Resources will launch another satellite, Arkyd-6, which is twice the size of its predecessor. The new satellite is expected to have an infrared imaging system to detect the presence of water and hydrous minerals in near-Earth asteroids.

"Asteroid mining may sound like a science fiction topic, but our company is developing this technology. In fact, many governments around the world have created policies and legal frameworks to support asteroid mining in the next few years," Chris Lewicki told ABC News.

According to VnExpress