The Story of the Asteroid
June 2025
Among the stars, orbiting the planets, are a population of ancient celestial bodies that may contain the key to understanding our origins and unlocking our future. These airless, rocky bodies are better known as asteroids. These rocky remnants are immaculately preserved time-capsules that contain the clues about the early solar environment. More than our origins, asteroids are rich in untapped resources that can power new industries, sustain space exploration, and preserve our terrestrial environment.
Since the beginning, humanity has built instruments used to define our world: telescopes that pierce the night skies to illuminate distant objects, satellites that trace our world across vast orbits, and spectrometers used to capture and measure light. In our world, finite tools map the infinite. We use light, distance, and position to measure our Solar System. While cosmic mysteries remain, we face a pivotal question: If we could examine actual samples from our cosmic beginnings, would we? What if we could mine the past to secure resources for our future? Will we choose the pursuit of knowledge or the comfort of ignorance?
💡 As we extend our capabilities beyond our planet, asteroids are not just objects of curiosity but rather, targets of opportunity.
Inception
4.6 billion years ago, long before Earth took shape, there was a vast cloud of swirling gas and dust drifting in the corner of the Milky Way. Gravity pulled this cloud inward, causing it to collapse, spinning faster and faster, until it flattened into a disk. At its core, pressure ignited fusion, and our Sun was born. Around it, matter collided, stuck together, and grew to form planets, moons, and the beginning of life itself.


During this process, not all matter found a home. Some fragments remained unclaimed and unaltered. These are asteroids: the rocky relics of our origins. They are not debris; they are cosmic fossils. Asteroids are as varied as the questions we ask. Ranging in size, from just a few meters to nearly 1,000 meters in diameter, asteroids are smaller than the average planet. Due to a weak gravitational force, some are misshapen, jagged, and dark, while others are smooth and metallic, shining faintly in reflected sunlight. Within these immaculately preserved bodies is the chemistry, temperature, and memory of our Solar System.
Location
Asteroids orbit in silent formation, mostly between Mars and Jupiter, in a location called the asteroid belt. These asteroids range in size from small rocks to large objects containing exposed planetary cores of ice, gas, metal, rock, and dust. The asteroid belt can be divided into three parts: the inner, middle, and outer belt. The inner belt, centered at 2.8 AU from the Sun, contains S-type asteroids composed of silicates. The middle belt contains metallic bodies, and the outer belt, located at 3.2 AU, contains primitive, carbonaceous asteroids.

Occasionally, gravitational interactions or collisions cause the asteroids to wander off course, out of the asteroid belt, into different parts of the Solar System. Some of these objects enter Earth’s greater orbit and are then classified as near-Earth objects (NEO), or near-Earth asteroids (NEAs). Since 1990, astronomers have discovered over 33,000 near-Earth asteroids, revealing a diverse population that reflects the full range of asteroid types found in the main belt. These bodies contain valuable resources, including essential elements and precious metals, making them significant not only for scientific study but for future resource utilization.
Meteoroid, Meteor, Meteorite
Most meteoroids began their journey as asteroids, primarily from the asteroid belt. Over time, gravitational interactions with the Sun and Jupiter, along with collisions and orbital disturbances, knocked some asteroids off course. Once dislodged, fragments began to break off and enter space as meteoroids.

As a meteoroids descend through Earth’s atmosphere, it endures extreme friction, atmospheric pressure, and chemical interactions with gases. This causes the meteoroid to heat up and glow brightly by emitting radiant energy, creating what we see in as a meteors. If any part of the meteor survives the journey to reach Earth’s surface, it becomes classified as a meteorite.

Meteorites come in many types, ranging from carbonaceous and primitive to metallic. Two of the most common types are iron and stony-iron meteorites.
Iron meteorites are divided into 12 main groups based on their distinct compositions and account for approximately 5.7% of all recorded meteorite falls. Composed primarily of iron and nickel, these meteorites share many characteristics with metallic asteroids. They often display a distinctive crystalline structure known as the Widmanstätten pattern, and typically contain the nickel-iron alloys kamacite and taenite. Iron meteorites are more resistant to weathering than stony meteorites, making them easier to identify.
Stony-iron meteorites contain roughly equal parts metal and silicate minerals. This composition suggests they formed at the boundary between the metallic core and silicate mantle of a differentiated asteroid (an object that has internal layering based on density and composition).
Earth has been impacted by asteroids many times throughout its history, more often than most people even realize. In fact, scientists have recovered more than 50,000 meteorites on Earth. As solid samples of asteroid material, meteorites contain the composition of our planetary origins alongside the elements and metals needed to sustain life on Earth.
Collecting Data
From asteroids to meteorites, understanding these space objects begins with the study of light. Analyzing its reflection and absorption properties allows scientists to identify an object and discover its composition. Using powerful telescopes and tools like spectrometers, scientists determine an object’s characteristics through a process called spectral analysis. This process studies a distant object’s spectra through spectral imaging to be able to identify an object’s distinct orbital path, rotation speed, and mineral content. Spectral types are assigned to asteroids based on their reflectance spectrum, color, and sometimes albedo (the fraction of the sunlight that is diffusely reflected by an object). By analyzing the light reflected from an object’s surface using visible wavelength spectra, scientists can determine its composition.

Detecting moving near-Earth objects is completed by utilizing ground-based and space-based telescopes for near-infrared wavelength imaging to compare multiple images, taken several minutes apart, of the same region in the sky. Once a near-Earth object is detected, its orbital characteristics are computed by finding the elliptical path through space that best fits all available observations and determines classification and impact risk.
Classification: C, S, & M-Type Asteroids
Once analyzed for its spectral characteristics, asteroids are then classified into three main categories: carbonaceous, silicaceous, and metallic.
Carbonaceous (C-type): most common, made of carbon, organic materials, and water minerals
Silicaceous (S-type): Second most common, made of rocky silicates and nickel-iron
Metallic (M-type): rarest but most valuable, contains high concentrations of PGMs and iron-nickel metals
C-type are the most common and frequently found within Earth’s greater orbit as NEAs. Carbonaceous asteroids have been studied directly on missions like Japan’s Hayabusa2 and NASA’s OSIRIS-REx, which found asteroid Bennu to be composed of amino acids (the molecules that make up proteins) and nucleobases (the core elements of DNA). NASA states, “the findings do not show evidence for life itself, but they do suggest the conditions necessary for the emergence of life were widespread across the early solar system, increasing the odds life could have formed on other planets and moons”. These missions reinforced the idea that asteroids answer humanity’s deepest questions about our origins, while containing a surplus of the essential elements that are used in sustaining life on Earth. While S-type do exist, they are not our primary focus. For effective resource extraction for terrestrial and space-based applications, metallic asteroids are the answer.
Metallic Asteroids
💡 Alone in its orbit, just ONE metallic asteroid (1km wide) contains enough precious metals to withstand Earth’s demand for platinum group metals.
Floating in our distant skies, just beyond reach, are M-type asteroids. Metallic asteroids are thought to be the exposed cores of larger planetesimals (the early building blocks of our planets). These M-type asteroids were likely disrupted during the early formation of our Solar System, and unlike other asteroids, these metallic-rich asteroids underwent a heating process forming distinct metal-rich cores within its structure. Most asteroids did not go through such an intense process, and as a result, only metal-rich asteroids contain this structure.

Location
Typically located in the middle region of the main asteroid belt (between 2.5 - 3.0 AU), metallic asteroids have an albedo range from 0.10 to 0.18, making them more reflective than the darker C-types, but not as bright as some S-types. M-type asteroids tend to rotate faster than other types as a result of early, non-disruptive collisions, leading us to believe that metallic asteroids are the exposed cores of “planetary embryos” (the remnants of the early protoplanets). With their rapid spin, high density, and metallic composition, metallic asteroids offer a rare glimpse into the structure of planetary composition.
Composition
Metallic asteroids contain unusually high concentrations of platinum group metals, the group of six rare Earth metals (Platinum, Palladium, Rhodium, Ruthenium, Iridium, Osmium). On Earth, PGMs are indispensable to industrial applications such as automotive emission systems, electronics, and even for saving lives through medical devices. But Earth’s supply is dwindling, causing PGMs to become rare, geographically segregated, and often found at the scarred sites of ancient impacts, alluding to celestial origins.
Although metallic asteroids contain platinum group metals (PGMs), their primary composition is nickel and iron, with trace amounts of other metals such as cobalt and gold. Because PGMs are siderophilic, meaning they tend to dissolve in molten iron, they are typically concentrated in the asteroid’s core. Additionally, the high pressures and temperatures within some metallic asteroids can produce minor sulfide and carbide minerals.
Today, most of the global PGM supply comes from South Africa and Russian mines. A single policy shift, conflict, or economic disruption could threaten the backbone of clean energy, modern technology, and medicine. For this to change, we must look to alternative measures.

Near-Earth Metallic Asteroids
Near-Earth asteroids are much closer to Earth than objects within the asteroid belt. Two well-known NEAs are 2016 ED85 and (6178) 1986 DA. These two asteroids exhibit high reflectivity, indicating a high concentration of metallic materials. Discovered through compositional and spectral analysis, asteroid (6178) 1986 DA is 3 kilometers in diameter and is 85% metal. Its composition indicates a vast amount of metals available for interplanetary resourcing.
This chart presents NASA’s spectral analysis of asteroids (6178) 1986 DA and 2016 ED85, suggesting these asteroids are metal-rich.

Other Metallic Asteroids
Well-regarded metallic asteroids include: 16 Psyche, 21 Lutetia, 2016 ED85, 22 Kalliope, 216 Kleopatra, 129 Antigone, 69 Hesperia, 161 Athor, and 201 Penelope.
The most prominent mission to a metallic asteroid is NASA’s Psyche mission. Launched in 2022, this spacecraft is currently traveling approximately 370 million kilometers to reach asteroid 16 Psyche (an irregular, potato-shaped body located in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter). The Psyche mission aims to reveal critical insights into the composition, structure, and history of metallic asteroids within the asteroid belt, providing a rare opportunity to access the building blocks of planetary cores for resource utilization.

With over one million asteroids in our Solar System, society is overlooking a vast, untapped resource in the sky: access to precious and platinum group metals (PGMs). While Earth’s supply is steadily depleting, the celestial supply remains bountiful. With such abundant resources within reach, why continue depleting our terrestrial reserves? Why not tap into this vast cosmic surplus? Instead of relying on imports and exports, let’s turn to the stars.
Asteroid Mining: Sci-Fi or the Future?
💡With the potential to surpass Earthly reserves, interplanetary mining of metallic asteroids holds the key to unlock terrestrial resourcing.
The question once left to science fiction now belongs to science itself. To answer, we must begin with a deeper understanding of the interconnectedness of our universe, from cosmic origins to the complex systems of our modern world. Our survival, our progress, and our industries are all woven into this web of interdependence.
What we choose to bring into our world matters, because asteroids contain not just the history of our Solar System, but the materials that formed the early planets. With critical resources embedded in their structure, asteroids contain a vast surplus of the essential elements and metals used to develop our modern world. When accessed, asteroids provide the elements necessary to reshape the global economy, reduce Earth’s environmental burden, and promote exponential growth for the space enterprise.
Floating silently in our Solar System, asteroids remain an untapped resource, silently waiting to be seen, understood, and utilized with purpose. They are not just rocks. They are the building blocks of worlds, the remnants of ancient collisions, and the foundation of a sustainable future. Asteroid mining is more than science fiction; it’s a necessity. As Earth's terrestrial reserves dwindle, the question isn’t if we mine the skies—it’s when.
At AstroForge, we are committed to pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. If Earth’s resources are finite, then we must seek answers beyond our means, beyond our atmosphere. We believe interplanetary resourcing will be central to supporting a sustainable, global future. The key to humanity’s survival may not be buried underground. The answers lie above, silently amongst the stars, waiting to be retrieved. Containing essential metals and primordial elements, asteroids contain the origins of life and the means to preserve it.
The sky is not the limit: it’s the next frontier.
June 2025 | Riley Harrison