NASA, which stands for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, is the United States government agency responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research.
NASA's mission is to pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery, and aeronautics research. The agency conducts a wide range of activities, including launching and managing spacecraft for scientific research, studying Earth, the Moon, Mars, and other celestial bodies, developing and testing advanced technologies for space travel, conducting research on microgravity, studying the universe through telescopes, and collaborating with international partners on various space missions.
In Q4 2022, NASA announced the Psyche mission. Psyche is an asteroid in the “asteroid belt” between Mars and Jupiter. It’s about 140 miles wide, and NASA officials say it contains enormous deposits of metallic iron, nickel, gold, and other rare metals that are used in electric batteries.What’s the estimated value? The global economy is about $100 trillion, but according to Brownstone Research, Psyche's metals could be worth $10 quintillion; that’s over 100x the global economy. That figure is almost impossible for me to grasp.
Psyche could be pivotal in the clean energy transition. These rare metals, critical to electronics and clean energy technology, are in low concentrations on Earth. And we use pollutant, carbon-intensive equipment to harness them.
NASA’s Psyche mission, which will explore the metal-rich asteroid, is on track to launch in October 2023 after a one-year delay to complete critical testing.But it’s not just Psyche. Other asteroids are believed to contain rare earth metals in high concentrations never before seen on Earth. The extraction process in space (though more expensive) is less environmentally destructive than using carbon-intensive equipment on Earth.
And now, innovative companies like AstroForge are ramping up efforts to unearth and bring these metals home.
On the date of publication, Andy Mukolo did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
