Space mining

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Space mining refers to the future practice of mining asteroids, meteorites, the Moon and planets - any astronomical object beyond the orbit of the Earth.

The first objects likely to be mined are the near-Earth asteroids. Likely initial products include precious metals, which may be sold on Earth, and water and iron, which could be sold in Earth orbit if/when a sufficient demand develops. Another possible product is Helium 3, which is present in the Moon's regolith and could prove economical to ship to Earth as a fuel if fusion power plants become viable.

In 2006, Nikolai Sevastianov of the Energia Corporation announced plans to start mining helium 3 on the moon by 2020. [1]. However, any such plans are tentative at best, given the current lack of economic fusion power technology.