Space exploration: What is space mining?

Did You Know: Space – What is space mining?

Space is full of things that could be useful to humans. Asteroids, for example, have the ingredients that we could use to make rocket fuel.

In the future, humans may mine, or dig, on asteroids to find these ingredients and help us explore farther into space.

Asteroid riches

There are lots of precious metals in asteroids, which could be mined and returned to Earth. There is also oxygen, which could be used to make fuel for spacecraft.

Mining spacecraft

Special spacecraft can survey asteroids to find out which ones contain materials that could be mined.

Where else can we mine in space?

The moon

The moon has the potential to be mined.

Future spacecraft could even refuel at the moon on the way to other planets.

Distant worlds

As we explore deeper into the solar system, spacecraft will be able to mine faraway worlds for useful materials.