Potentially dangerous asteroid Nereus that passed Earth in the past could be mined for precious metals worth billions

Exploiting space is an idea that began to be implemented at the turn of this century, and 10 years ago it was hotly discussed. Many argue that space mining could revolutionize the commercial space economy by using robots and private astronauts to explore and mine near-Earth asteroids (NEA) for needles. precious metals and even rare earth metals. Since then, however, there has been little noticeable progress. The idea came up again in public discussions this weekend when an NEA – known as 4660 Nereus – passed by Earth. Scientists believe that the egg-shaped asteroid with a diameter of 330m contains the precious metal worth an estimated US$5 billion (about Rs. 3.78 Lakh crore).

Nereus did not come dangerously close to Earth. At its closest, it was 3.9 million kilometers away – about 10 times the distance between the Earth and the Moon. It will again pass by Earth 39 years from now, scientists say – and at that point it’s possible to launch “space miners” to see how we can use those mines. that precious metal on this asteroid.

According to a report by Asterrank, has a scientific and economic database of more than 6 lakhs small planet, Nereus includes $4.71 billion (or 3.56 lakh crores) worth of iron, cobalt and nickel. But further studies after the recent flight will shed more light on its characteristics.

Franck Marchis, chief scientific officer of Unistellar, the company that makes digital telescopes, tell Forbes that Nereus will fly only 1.2 million kilometers from Earth in February 2060, when “space miners” can attempt to land there. “As a frequent visitor to our planet, Nereus could play an important role in the future of space exploration, providing important resources,” said Marchis.

Another topic worth noting is how the repeated flybys of Nereus affect the safety of the Earth. The asteroid has been classified as “potentially dangerous.” Even if the asteroid passed by Earth in 2060, it would be 5 times the distance between Earth and the Moon. Objects that come close to Earth and are large enough to cause significant damage are classified as “possibly hazardous”. This shows the danger that objects like Nereus could pose in the future because they cross Earth’s orbit at some point.