Aren't we supposed to be mining asteroids by now? We all remember seeing occasional news about huge profit to be had from gold, iron and platinum rich asteroids just flying around out there for the taking. But how have timelines and expectations in this industry evolved over time? Going back to the mid 1990s, it was thought we'd already be there today. The BBC’s Tomorrow’s World special, broadcast on July 7, 1995 for the program’s 30th anniversary (Link Below), looked ahead 30 years to 2025 and portrayed asteroid mining as an established, lucrative industry. John S. Lewis’s influential 1996 book Mining the Sky also popularized the idea with optimistic economic analyses. He highlighting the immense value of even small metallic asteroids which could contain trillions of dollars in metals. Other academic and advocacy discussions in the late 1990s treated prospecting missions as feasible in the early 2000s and commercial extraction as a realistic 21st century possibility. bbc.com/videos/cj6zxwnzl1po By the early to mid 2000s, optimism had cooled on the venture. Broader views positioned asteroid mining as potentially viable in the coming decades once launch costs dropped and robotics advanced. There were few bold 'by 20XX' media predictions. It was seen as a longer term goal amid competing priorities like the International Space Station and Shuttle program. The early 2010s though brought a surge of private sector hype that dramatically shortened perceived timelines. In April 2012, Planetary Resources, backed by investors including Larry Page, Eric Schmidt and James Cameron, announced ambitious plans. (Link Below) They envisioned a space telescope in operation by 2014–2016 for prospecting, followed by sample and return missions and eventual mining. Executives spoke of propellant depots in space within the decade and water derived fuel for an in space economy by the first half of the 2020s. A 2015 Space.com article (Link Below) captured the prevailing excitement. It read 'Asteroid Mining May Be a Reality by 2025' with the author expressing confidence in asteroid water delivery and refueling economies up and running soon after. Consensus optimism during this time period was fueled by falling launch costs, billionaire backing, and SpaceX's early successes with reusable rockets. theverge.com/2012/4/24/29714… space.com/30213-asteroid-min… By 2020 however, expectations had once again cooled as early companies faced setbacks. Planetary Resources flew some small prototype satellites but struggled with funding and technical challenges. It was sold off by the end of 2019 along with a similar company, Deep Space Industries. Media coverage increasingly highlighted difficulties like enormous upfront costs, the need for reliable in space infrastructure for refueling, robotics, regulatory uncertainties, and the fact that high profile science missions like Hayabusa2 in 2020 and OSIRIS-REx were advancing knowledge but not commercial extraction logistics. Timelines stretched to the 2030s. Today, the prevailing media and expert consensus views asteroid mining as years or decades away from meaningful commercial beginnings. No extraction or return of asteroid resources for profit has occurred. But there is hope. Science and prospecting missions advance. The Psyche mission (Link Below) to a metal rich asteroid, launched 2023 and arriving 2029, and newer startup AstroForge securing licenses for deep space prospecting missions targeting the late 2020s are marching forward. Many believe progress hinges on cheaper heavy lift capability. SpaceX's Starship advancements will help. Market forecasts project growth in a future asteroid mining sector, but these assume it begins scaling in the 2030s or later. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psyche… So where will we be in 5-10 years? Still 10-20 years away as we have been since the 90s? Or will this burgeoning industry have found its feet in the solar system? Thanks for reading. Give me a follow if you enjoyed!

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Can anyone tell me which BYD models currently offer this feature

What's one purchase under $100 that significantly improved your- I'd pay $100 to never see someone post this question again how bout that

And she's got the tweet set so only mutual can comment. Yeah that's smart Ilhan, wouldn't want actual public opinion showing there would we?

How are so many people falling for this. Come on guys it's a joke profile.

One of the few positive things about Australian English, at least they call it soccer

The Romulus Augustulus of Soldier Field

All these sick people! We can't be introducing a new practice like this, the world is already weird enough. After all, public executions have only happened for *checks notes* 95% OF HUMAN HISTORY

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There are a few shows on here worse than Rick and Morty. Justified?? Come on.

This is an unwinnable battle for the Trump administration. Freedom of the press is a core tenant of US speech and the White House is not private property. Love em or hate em, CNN/MS/Politico will be back soon.

China allowing this to happen is like letting a midget slap your girls ass

How are Chargers fans coping right now? These first two weeks had to have been such a painful ride.

Well it doesn't seem like this BRICS summit went very well for ol' Xi. Real pity, that.

Russia: we can capture Poland in 3 days Russia 3 years later:

After seeing several respectable renditions of the National Anthem this weekend, I had to go back and watch Fergie's NBA Allstat version one more time. Absolute abomination.

Yet another person who needs to be reminded that international law isn't real

We knew.

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