The Center for Space Resources at Colorado School of Mines was recently highlighted in The Denver Post as part of an article about proposed federal legislation to create a NASA-led Space Resources Institute.
The Space Resources Institute Act, introduced last week in the U.S. House by Colorado Reps. Scott Tipton and Ed Perlmutter, asks NASA to investigate the establishment of a Space Resources Institute to sponsor and lead basic scientific research and technology development enabling the capture and utilization of space resources.
From the article:
Since the 1990s, the Colorado School of Mines has had a center that researches the development of space resources. The center "focuses on developing core knowledge and gaining design practices in systems for responsible exploration, extraction, and use of resources in the Solar System," according to its website.
George Sowers, a professor of space resources at the School of Mines, said in a statement that creating a space resources program within NASA would ensure the U.S. remains a leader in the field.
"As NASA solidifies its plans to return to the moon and then go on to Mars, the utilization of space resources will play a critical enabling role," Sowers said. "Furthermore, bringing the resources of space within the economic sphere of Earth will spur the next great economic revolution for humankind."