As a pioneering space mining company faces setbacks in its latest venture, Josh Sims explores just how close we are to unlocking the wealth hidden within asteroids orbiting our planet.

Decades ago, futurists envisioned a world where asteroid mining would be a reality by 2025. While that milestone remains unmet, some ambitious start-ups argue it’s only a matter of time.

One such company, California-based AstroForge, is striving to lead the charge. On February 27, 2025, it launched its first unmanned spacecraft—dubbed Odin—aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. AstroForge estimates that about nine days later, Odin crossed beyond the Moon, embarking on its journey into deep space.

However, the company soon encountered severe communication failures with the spacecraft—issues that remain unresolved. Despite the setback, AstroForge believes Odin is on its planned nine-month trajectory toward asteroid 2022 OB5, located five million miles from Earth, where it is supposed to analyze the rock’s composition.

Matt Gialich, the company’s outspoken founder, remains undeterred by these challenges. His approach is clear: “Move fast and break rocks.” While Odin’s fate remains uncertain, Gialich sees the mission as a learning experience. "There are plenty more steps ahead," he acknowledges, "but we’re pushing forward. You have to try."

AstroForge’s long-term goal is to extract high-value metals—especially platinum-group elements essential to green energy technologies—from near-Earth asteroids. With traditional mining facing increasing financial, environmental, and geopolitical challenges, space mining is being touted as an alternative.

However, skeptics question whether extracting resources from asteroids and returning them to Earth is viable anytime soon. Some also warn of potential environmental repercussions from space mining, an area yet to be fully explored.

Over the next decade, AstroForge plans a series of test missions, aiming first to retrieve tiny metal samples—mere grams—before scaling up to kilograms. While early recoveries won’t be commercially profitable, they could pave the way for large-scale operations. With rhodium currently fetching $183,000 per kilogram, the financial incentive is undeniable.

Investor and deep-sea explorer Victor Vescovo, who has backed AstroForge, views the technical challenges as solvable. “If we can retrieve even micrograms, scaling up is just a matter of time,” he argues. He points out that space agencies like Japan’s JAXA and NASA have already retrieved asteroid material with missions such as Hayabusa and Osiris-Rex.

Vescovo compares asteroid mining to past technological leaps—such as the Wright brothers’ first flight—emphasizing that groundbreaking achievements often seem implausible until they become reality.

Yet, significant challenges remain. Ian Lange, a professor at the Colorado School of Mines, highlights the difficulty of resource extraction in microgravity. "Mining—separating ore from dirt—is relatively simple, but we rely on gravity, heat, and chemical processes to refine materials on Earth," he explains. "Replicating that in space will be a major hurdle."

Asteroid mining, once a niche academic concept, gained traction in the 1980s when NASA began exploring its feasibility. Interest grew in the 1990s amid rising environmental concerns, spurring private ventures such as Moon Express, Planetary Resources, and Deep Space Industries. However, by the end of the 2010s, high costs led to most of these companies being acquired or pivoting to other projects.

Given the immense technical and financial challenges, Lange estimates that commercially viable asteroid mining is still at least 30 years away. While the dream persists, the reality remains an uphill battle.