2026 Undergraduate Research Showcase

Asteroid Mining

Document Type

Student Presentation

Presentation Date

4-24-2026

Faculty Sponsor

Dr. Sondra Miller

Abstract

The future of resource extraction is headed in the direction of asteroid mining, through the capitalization of resource sustainability beyond Earth. Asteroid mining includes the extraction of valuable materials from near-Earth objects. Particular emphasis is placed on platinum-group metals, which are among the rarest in Earth’s crust, yet remain essential for advanced technologies and renewable energy systems. Currently, scientific missions from various aerospace exploration agencies have demonstrated the technical feasibility of material sampling, and return. While these missions were smaller scale, they validated critical capabilities for commercial-scale extraction.

This research poster looks at orbital and landing trajectory logistics, excavation and material refinement methods, the commercial aspects of mining, and the legal and ethical considerations regarding asteroid mining. Off-world extraction promises to reduce the environmental and ethical burdens associated with mining while supporting space-based manufacturing and future asteroid mining colonies.

Emerging private initiatives signal a transition from exploration to commercialization. As the technologies and public interest grow, asteroid mining will shift from theoretical to an economically and environmentally strategic reality.

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS