In future space missions, brave men and women will embark on thrilling adventures to asteroids, seeking to mine the incredible wealth of materials they carry through the vastness of space.
But even with the most recent technological advances today, space mining will likely remain uneconomical for decades to come.
Image Credit: Deep Space Industries
Back in 2014, NASA made a decision to take a closer look at 16 Psyche, an enormous asteroid discovered in 1852.
This mysterious space rock, which orbits between Mars and Jupiter, was believed to hold an astonishing $700 quintillion worth of valuable materials including iron, nickel, and gold.
The mission to explore the asteroid was approved in 2017, and, after a delay, it was set to launch in October of this year. However, as NASA announced a few days ago, it has canceled its plans, deeming the asteroid "inaccessible."
Although space mining doesn't exist as an industry yet, the idea of mining in outer space has fascinated dreamers for over 100 years.