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KnowledgeBase | Space Resources: Near Earth Asteroids

Home Space Resources Near-Earth Asteroids

Near-Earth asteroids are full of a variety of useful volatiles as well as base & precious metals and semiconductors. The common Platinum-group or platinum-band metals are a highly valued commodity used in a variety of manufacturing and industrial settings. The Platinum band consists of the six metals Ruthenium, Rhodium, Palladium, Osmium, Iridium, and Platinum. Other precious metals include Silver and Gold. Semiconductors of interest include Gallium, Germanium, and quantities of a variety of others. Many of the Near-Earth Asteroids also have high concentrations of water!

Some Useful Resources of Asteroids

Asteroids have many useful resources. In fact, they have a significant portion of the basic resources we'll need to survive in space.

Water
Oxygen
Hydrogen (and many hydrocarbons)
Iron
Nickel
Aluminum
Carbon (and Carbon Dioxide)
Cobalt
Phosphorus

Titanium
Magnesium
Silicates
Platinum
Zinc
Gold
Ammonia
Uranium
Semiconductor metals (germanium, arsenide, etc)

Near-Earth Asteroids That Have Been Studied

Some of the near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) that have been studied.

243 Ida & Dactyl (S-Type)

Ida is an S-Type asteroid and has its own satellite known as Dactyl. Ida was imaged by the Galileo probe on its way to Jupiter. S-Type asteroids consist primarily of Iron and Magnesium Silicates. Ida is the first asteroid to be observed as having its own satellite (Dactyl). The surface of Ida is known to be heavy in the Silicate minerals Olivine and Pyroxene.

253 Mathilde (C-Type)

253 Mathilde is a C-Type asteroid which makes it very high in carbon and therefore has a very dark surface. The surface composition is very high in phyllosilicate minerals. With a relatively low density, 253 Mathilde is thought to be somewhat of a "rubble pile", like many of the C-Type asteroids.

433 Eros (S-Type)

Asteroid 433 Eros is an S-type asteroid and is the second largest of the Near-Earth Asteroids (NEA). 433 Eros was observed by the NEAR Shoemaker probe and imaged. 433 Eros is over 11Km wide and is of stony composition and consists mostly of iron and magnesium silicates.

951 Gaspra (S-Type)

951 Gaspra is an S-Type asteroid but appears to be especially Olivine-rich (a Magnesium Iron Silicate) and is also high in Pyroxene. 951 Gaspra may be somewhat young in the solar system and is thought to be more solid. 951 Gaspra was the first asteroid to ever have been closely approached by spacecraft. The Galileo spacecraft flew by Gaspra in 1991 on its way to Jupiter.

25143 Itokawa (S-type)

25143 Itokawa was the observational subject of the Hayabusa probe sent by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and is named after the Japanese rocket scientist Hideo Itokawa. Itokawa is thought to be two large bodies stuck together and is overall a "rubble pile" asteroid. The Hayabusa mission was to collect a sample of the asteroid material. The mission was struck with some problems and, although the sample return craft is on its way back to Earth, it's unclear if samples were successfully collected.

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