New calculations show that one of two metal-abundant asteroids traveling near Earth may contain precious metal worth approximately $11.65 trillion, a report from CNET explains. That means that the space rock likely contains more iron, nickel, and cobalt than the Earth's entire global metal reserves.
The metal-rich asteroid is called 1986 DA and it was analyzed alongside another asteroid called 2016 ED85 in a new study published in The Planetary Science Journal. The paper claims that the two space objects could be "possible targets for asteroid mining in the future."
In the future, space mining could provide massive wealth here on Earth, as well as valuable resources for future space colonies. Last month, a team of researchers from the University of Arizona unveiled a concept for a swarm of rovers that could mine the moon for resources for future lunar colonies. Several asteroids have already been identified as potentially lucrative targets, including theasteroid 16 Psyche whose materials reach an estimated total net worth of $700 quintillion.
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