Is asteroid mining possible? SpaceX may just make the endeavor actually feasible. The company's Dragon capsule has already transported a test probe for Planetary Resources Inc., which hopes to extract precious metals from asteroids.
Actually mining an asteroid, though, comes with its complications. That's why researchers have developed something called optical mining, which is a patent-pending commercial technology which could provide a whole new way to harvest asteroid resources.
The concept itself is known as the Asteroid Provided In-Situ Supplies plan (Apis). This was actually developed under NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) fellowship and grant.
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