Introduction

Establishing a market in space resources

Our mission at AMC is to establish a market for space resource utilisation through innovative robotics and a Space Resources Database.

Previous attempts to mine asteroids have failed to take off. This is, in our opinion, because these past efforts have not been based on developing products and services that had a viable use case in our current market.

We specialise in viable near-term solutions and all of our ventures are profit-driven rather than speculative.

What’s the value of an asteroid?

Each asteroid is unique and as such they have widely varying valuations. These building blocks of the solar system contain a variety of materials that are mined on earth: platinum, palladium, rhodium and osmium to name but a few.

Scientists have already estimated that some metallic asteroids in Near Earth orbits - one example being Asteroid (6178) 1986 DA - contain trillions of pounds worth of these metals, including more platinum than has ever been mined in the history of the Earth. Naturally, this does not account for the depreciation in the value of these minerals once they are introduced into the terrestrial market, although technical limitations prevent us from releasing too much supply at once. Our planned mission cadence in the 2030s aims to recover 20 tonnes of processed platinum ore annually, equivalent to approximately 10% of the current global supply.

Over the past decade, we have become increasingly aware of the limits of Earth’s resources and that the potential for off-world mining is huge. We believe that it could provide a sustainable solution to humanity’s reliance on fossil fuels, whilst equipping our species with enough resources to support the development of our societies for thousands of years into the future.

Our team

Asteroid Mining Corporation is managed by a highly dedicated team based across the globe, covering a range of disciplines from extraterrestrial economics to spacecraft operations. Meet the Earth's first asteroid prospectors:

Subham Gupta

Chief Technical Officer

CEO & Founder, Space Resources Laboratory Ltd. 7 years’ experience in mechanical space systems including lunar mission SRMSAT-2 and asteroid retrieval.

MSc Astronautics and Space Engineering from Cranfield University.

Ben Dorset

Head of Astronomy

YORP effect researcher.

MPhys Physics with Astrophysics from the University of Kent.

Athena Atkinson

Head of Mining Engineering

Global and domestic mining operations specialist.

MSc Mining Engineering and BSc Geology from the University of Exeter Camborne School of Mines.

Board of advisors

Our partners

Tohoku University | Space Robotics Laboratory

Led by Professor Kazuya Yoshida, the Space Robotics Laboratory (SRL) within the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan, is dedicated to the research and development of robotic systems for space science and exploration missions.

Liverpool John Moores University | Astrophysics Research Institute

AMC has been working for the past 3 years with Liverpool John Moores University's Astrophysics Research Institute (LARI) on the development of Asteroid Prospecting Satellite One (APS-1). LARI are a world leading authority on astronomy, in particular the manufacture of astronomical instruments, and remotely operate the 2 metre diameter robotic Liverpool Telescope based on La Palma. LARI are designing a bespoke optics package for APS-1 and contributing to the development of the machine learning algorithms required to process the data collected by APS-1.

University of Liverpool

The University of Liverpool is handling the mechanical engineering for APS-1, working closely with LARI, being based on opposite sides of the same road. A source of pride for the city, APS-1 will be the first ‘Liverpool Satellite’. The Liver Birds may not be able to fly, but they are going to space regardless.

University of Glasgow | School of Engineering

AMC is working with the University of Glasgow’s School of Engineering (UGSE) to develop a space mining drill. UGSE has already tested prototypes in Antarctica and in ESTEC's Large Diameter Centrifuge. Dr Kevin Worrall’s team is now upscaling their scientific instrument into a commercial tool capable of extracting material in economically viable quantities.

Northern Space Consortium

AMC is proud to be supported by the Northern Space Consortium as our primary network integrator. NSC are working to develop the space industry in the North of England and Wales. AMC was founded in Liverpool and maintains strong links to the North West of England.

Our vision

Our vision for the future sees asteroids as the basis of the extraterrestrial economy. Our first mining probe will focus on the erection of extraction and processing equipment and attempt to recover 20 tonnes of platinum - accounting for 10% of the annual global supply. Reusable shuttles will continue to transport material to and from Earth until the mine’s depletion. These building blocks will form the foundations of humanity's expansion into space.