Asteroid Mining Gallery: Planetary Resources to Mine Space Rocks

Meet Planetary Resources

Planetary Resources, Inc.

Planetary Resources will help sustain humanity’s future by accessing the vast resources of space, company officials say.

Accessible Resources

Planetary Resources, Inc.

Many asteroids are in Earth-like orbits that offer accessible resources.

Leo Space Telescope

Planetary Resources, Inc.

Planetary Resources has developed a space telescope with remote sensing capability. Data gathered from near-Earth asteroids will assist in analyzing the composition of the bodies to determine a commercial value.

Near-Earth Asteroid

Planetary Resources, Inc.

Near-Earth asteroids contain a vast supply of natural resources.

Asteroid Prospecting

Planetary Resources, Inc.

Planetary Resources, Inc. plans to send robotic probes out to prospect near-Earth asteroids, gauging their potential stores of water and platinum-group metals.

Swarm of Spacecraft on an Asteroid

Planetary Resources, Inc.

Swarms of low-cost robotic spacecraft will enable extraction of resources from near-Earth asteroids.

Thousands of Asteroids

Planetary Resources, Inc.

Nearly 9,000 near-Earth asteroids are known today, and more than 1,500 of them are easier to reach than the surface of the moon, researchers say.

Capturing a Water-Rich Asteroid

Planetary Resources, Inc.

Small, water-rich near-Earth asteroids can be captured by spacecraft, allowing their resources to be extracted, officials with the new company Planetary Resources say.

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Space.com is the premier source of space exploration, innovation and astronomy news, chronicling (and celebrating) humanity's ongoing expansion across the final frontier. Originally founded in 1999, Space.com is, and always has been, the passion of writers and editors who are space fans and also trained journalists. Our current news team consists of Editor-in-Chief Tariq Malik; Editor Hanneke Weitering, Senior Space Writer Mike Wall; Senior Writer Meghan Bartels; Senior Writer Chelsea Gohd, Senior Writer Tereza Pultarova and Staff Writer Alexander Cox, focusing on e-commerce. Senior Producer Steve Spaleta oversees our space videos, with Diana Whitcroft as our Social Media Editor.