Asteroid Mining Becomes More Feasible With Groundbreaking Discovery

A recent study published in a leading scientific journal has shed new light on the feasibility of asteroid mining, a concept that has preserved significant attention recently. According to a report on ScienceAlert, researchers from the Institute of Space Sciences (ICE-CSIC) have made a groundbreaking discovery that could pave the way for the exploitation of small asteroids as a source of raw materials.

Led by Dr. Josep M. Trigo-Rodríguez, a theoretical physicist from the Institute of Space Sciences (ICE) and the Catalonian Institute of Space Studies (IEEC) in Barcelona, the team analyzed samples of C-type (carbon-rich) asteroids, which account for approximately 75% of known asteroids. Their findings suggest that these asteroids could be a crucial source of raw materials, presenting opportunities for future resource exploitation.

The study focused on carbonaceous chondrites (C chondrites), a type of meteorite that falls to Earth regularly. However, due to their fragile nature, they often fragment and are lost, making them rare and difficult to study. The majority of retrieved C chondrites have been found in desert regions, including the Sahara and Antarctica. The research team, which included PhD student Pau Grèbol-Tomàs, Dr.