The first asteroid mining missions may not happen for a decade or more, but government agencies and private companies are steadily working towards making it a reality. As some groups work the engineering and business challenges, others are looking at the scientific and legal challenges. One such challenge is dealing with debris in a microgravity environment.
Read MoreA science team led by Alessondra Springmann found that heating up various types of carbonaceous chondrite meteorites released water as well as other volatile and toxic trace elements. Water is likely one of the very first resources that will be sourced from space for use in space. It is versatile for a variety of applications, including rocket propellant, consumption by astronauts, and bulk radiation shielding.
Read MoreNASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission went into orbit around Near Earth Asteroid (NEA) 101955 Bennu. The OSIRIS-REx mission is NASA's first sample return mission from an asteroid. The science obtained from in-situ observations and the returned sample will advance our understanding of asteroids by an order of magnitude. Very little is currently known about NEAs, so these results will aid future exploration missions.
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