Nearly All Metal Near-Earth Asteroids Could Be Mined For Their Resources: Study

NASA’s upcoming mission to asteroid 16 Psyche has garnered a lot of attention for its potential value, but two more near-Earth metal-rich asteroids could be mined for their resources, including one that could be worth more than $ 11 trillion. .

These metal-rich near-Earth asteroids (NEA) are known as 6178 (1986 DA) and 2016 ED85 and, according to research, they have “spectral signatures” – or the makeup of objects – similar to 16 Psyche.

As such, the researchers called them “mini Psyches,” meaning there’s a high probability that they are largely made up of iron, nickel, and cobalt.

While exploring the “mining potential” of 1986 DA, the researchers discovered that the amount of iron, nickel and cobalt that could be present on the asteroid would exceed the world’s reserves of the aforementioned metals.

‘Assuming the asteroid is mined and the metals traded over 50 [years], we found that the annual value of precious metals (in 2021 US dollars) for 1986 DA would be $ 233 billion, ”the researchers wrote in the study.

“The adjusted prices… show that 1986 DA could be worth a total of 11.65 trillion yen.”

The metal content for 1986 DA could be significantly higher than world reserves of several different precious metals, including iron, nickel and cobalt, the study’s authors believe, citing figures from the US Geological Survey. .

The researchers did not include 2016 ED85 “due to the limited data available” for the asteroid.

“Our analysis shows that both NEAs have surfaces containing 85% metal such as iron and nickel and 15% silicate, which is basically rock,” said lead author of the study, Juan Sanchez. , in a press release.

“These asteroids are similar to certain stony iron meteorites such as mesosiderites found on Earth.”

It is possible that these NEAs were once the nucleus of planets that developed in the early universe and were destroyed for one reason or another.

NASA is sending a mission to study asteroid Psyche – an asteroid that could be worth $ 10,000 billion because of its high metal content.

This mission to study the 124-mile-wide space rock, which orbits the sun in the asteroid belt, will take place in 2022.

As part of the mission, the US space agency will attempt to determine the origins of the space rock, originally discovered in 1852.

The spacecraft that will be heading towards 16 Psyche, also known as Psyche, will travel 1.5 billion kilometers in 3.5 years using solar electric thrusters and xenon to reach the huge space rock.

The benefits of asteroid mining have been discussed for decades, not only for their economic value, but “also as a means of reducing environmental damage on Earth,” the researchers wrote in the study.

Metals could be used on Earth, as well as for “space construction”, such as possible colonies on Mars or one on the Moon.

The authors note that when asteroids are destroyed, they create an “asteroid family” – a number of smaller asteroids that have similar orbital compositions and trajectories.

The researchers examined the compositions and orbits of 1986 DA and 2016 ED85 and found four possible asteroid families (Phaeo, Brasilia, San Marcello and 1999 CG1) in the outer part of the main asteroid belt that could be related to these NEAs.

It is also where the largest known metal asteroids live, including 16 Psyche.

Experts, however, said they did not believe 1986 DA and 2016 ED85 to be 16 Psyche fragments.

“It is possible that some of the iron and stony iron meteorites found on Earth may also have originated from this region of the solar system,” said study co-author David Cantillo.

Although NASA will send a mission to study 16 Psyche, which some say is worth $ 10,000 quadrillion, it won’t arrive until 2026.

The figure of $ 10,000 billion is the subject of much debate because 16 Psyche is too far out for the spectral analysis the researchers used on 1986 DA and 2016 ED85.

However, in August, measurements of the surface temperature of 16 Psyche confirmed that it is teeming with precious metals.

Now, 1986 DA and 2016 ED85 are invaluable to scientists, not only because of their proximity to Earth, but they could provide insight into the makeup of 16 Pysche.

“It is gratifying that we have discovered these ‘mini Psyches’ so close to Earth,” said Vishnu Reddy, professor and co-author of the study at the University of Arizona.

The study was published in the Planetary Science Journal.