I do not believe that story. Musk wants to harvest the astroids because he need the rare elements on them. They are very heat resistant and right now very expensive. My son worked on building robots for NASA for core samples. There are two companies that have gotten core samples from the asteroids.
Economic Benefits:
- New Markets and Industries: The infusion of space-derived materials could create new markets and industries, potentially boosting global GDP.
- Resource Availability: Asteroid mining could provide an alternative supply of rare and valuable resources, alleviating the demand pressure on Earth's finite reserves.
- Technological Advancements: The need for advanced technology to mine asteroids could drive innovation and technological development, benefiting other sectors.
Elon Musk and companies like SpaceX are indeed interested in asteroid mining because of the valuable resources they contain. Asteroids can hold rare elements like platinum, gold, and other metals that are both expensive and essential for various industries1.
Two notable companies that have made significant strides in asteroid mining are
AstroForge and
Lunar Outpost. AstroForge has already secured funding for space missions to test and eventually extract minerals from asteroids2. Lunar Outpost is developing robotic technology to prospect and extract resources from asteroids and the Moon.