Asteroid Enterprises

We provide consultancy services to the terrestrial, and the coming extraterrestrial, mining and processing industries, based on a total team relevant experience exceeding 100 years.

MiscellaneousConsulting ServiceAsteroids

Created: 2023-08-10

Updated: 2024-02-24

Classification

Miscellaneous

Category

Consulting Service

Fields

Asteroids

Status

Active, Dormant

First launch

Not announced

Wrote thesis on Technical and Economic Feasibility of Mining the Near Earth Asteroids, University of Wollongong, study leave at U of Arizona, 1995-97.

breakthrough works on Asteroid Target Body Models as a parallel with Orebody models in asteroid resource assessment, prospecting, and mining process concept-development; and Probabilistic Mineral Resource Estimation of asteroidal resources, for target-selection and mission planning purposes.

Recent work developing Scoping Study-level reviews of targetted asteroid resource recovery missions and small-scale 'demo' / pilot level Proof-of-Concept sample return missions.

The Near-Earth Asteroids

• Plentiful targets (24,000 now found, more all the time..) 
• Highly accessible (20% are energetically ‘closer’ than Moon)
• Good knowledge base from meteorites & astronomy
• Richness of resources, c.f. the Moon (average grade ~ 10%) 
• Apparent ease of handling and processing loose regolith 
• Ease of return to market orbits
• Returns can be low thrust thus low power
• Precursor missions already flown