Space entrepreneurs have been coming up with the idea of “Asteroid Mining”, to tap the valuable mineral resources that may be found on asteroids.

Asteroid mining refers to the possibility of extracting raw materials from asteroids and other minor planets. Minerals and volatiles could be mined from an asteroid or a spent comet, then taken back to Earth or used in space for space-construction materials.

It is hard to believe that this is really happening and not just a scenario from a futuristic movie. Two US companies have been working steadily on their plans to use asteroids for their mineral deposits. If this happens successfully, would it not be the same as the gold rush of the past?