Asteroid Mining Expedition Hits Unexpected Communication Gap with Mission Control
The AstroForge team has encountered issues while trying to communicate with its washing machine-sized spacecraft, ‘Odin’ . The mission, which aimed to scout an asteroid as a potential mining site, has lost contact entirely less than 24 hours after launch.
Asteroid mining expeditions are emerging as a promising approach to harness space resources.
These missions aim to extract valuable minerals and metals from asteroids, which can be used for construction, propulsion, and other applications.
NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission has successfully retrieved samples from the 'asteroid Bennu' , while private companies like 'Planetary Resources' and 'Deep Space Industries' are developing technologies for large-scale asteroid mining.
The potential benefits of asteroid mining include reducing reliance on Earth-based resources, enabling more sustainable space exploration.
Matt Gialich, AstroForge founder, acknowledged the difficulties in an update on X-formerly-Twitter over the weekend. ‘I think we all know the hope is fading as we continue the mission, ‘ he said. Despite this setback, the team remains optimistic and plans to keep trying over the weekend to recover the spacecraft.
Asteroid Mining: A Lucrative but Challenging Venture
A number of space companies have raised significant funds with the promise of turning asteroids into a lucrative source of money. However, many have failed to live up to this promise, folding before even venturing into space. AstroForge did make some progress in 2023 by sending a demonstration satellite into orbit.
Asteroid mining is a concept where asteroids are extracted for valuable resources such as water, precious metals, and rare minerals.
NASA has identified over 19,000 near-Earth asteroids, with some containing up to $700 quintillion in resources.
Companies like Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries are working on developing technologies to extract these resources.
Asteroid mining could provide a sustainable source of materials for space exploration and development.
The Odin mission has reached an altitude of over 186,000 miles from Earth, with the spacecraft unfolding its solar panels and likely starting to charge. However, the team encountered ‘massive issues‘ due to incorrect polarization on Odin‘s antennas, which prevented communication for the first four hours of the mission.
A Plan to Recover the Spacecraft
The last contact with ‘Odin’ was 20 hours after liftoff, but the team isn’t giving up yet. They have a plan in place for the weekend and believe there is still a chance to recover the vehicle. If certain theories are true, there may be a recovery path.
AstroForge is already looking beyond ‘Odin’ , with plans for an asteroid landing mission called Vestri. Despite the challenges faced by ‘Odin’ , the company’s investors remain committed, with many doubling down on the venture.
- futurism.com | First Ever Asteroid Mining Mission Loses Contact With Earth
