Thar’s platinum in them thar ‘roids

It’s science fiction for now, but two companies are betting that mining asteroids for minerals will be possible in the near future.

The potential bonanza is, well, astronomical. A single 500-metre metal-rich asteroid might contain the equivalent of all the platinum-group metals mined to date. Icy bodies could provide water to sustain astronauts or be processed into rocket fuel for future missions to Mars.

• mining
• space