I have almost no question that the commercial sector will be harnessing asteroids within the next 50 years, barring a catastrophic global meltdown. This one asteroid has, apparently, a low end estimated value of $300 billion. We could fund all of NASA for something like 15 years just on the ability to capture and mine a single asteroid. Even better: just being able to claim this asteroid as an asset would put you in the top 20 most asset rich corporations in the Fortune 500.
I fully believe asteroid mining will get us off Earth before I die. With so much potential money in it, I don't see how it doesn't.
I have almost no question that the commercial sector will be harnessing asteroids within the next 50 years, barring a catastrophic global meltdown. This one asteroid has, apparently, a low end estimated value of $300 billion. We could fund all of NASA for something like 15 years just on the ability to capture and mine a single asteroid. Even better: just being able to claim this asteroid as an asset would put you in the top 20 most asset rich corporations in the Fortune 500.
I fully believe asteroid mining will get us off Earth before I die. With so much potential money in it, I don't see how it doesn't.