Water central to detailed asteroid mining mission plan

(Image: Planetary Resources)

Planetary Resources, the nascent billionaire-backed company that's planning to mine near-Earth asteroids, has revealed details of its first exploratory missions - and that it plans to mineice deposits as well as precious metals and minerals. The water could support life, or be split into oxygen and liquid hydrogen to make breathable air and rocket propellant, the firm says.

Though it will be many years before it reaches an asteroid, Planetary Resources has even begun advertising for 'asteroid miners'.

In a 24 April press conference in Seattle, Planetary Resources cofounder Eric Anderson - the entrepreneur behind the civilian spaceflight firm Space Adventures - says the first phase is to launch an unspecified number of cheap space telescopes into low Earth orbit to identify potentially resource-rich near-Earth asteroids.

He says development of these "Leo" satellites has already begun and that they plan to launch the first within two years. The firm - which counts Google co-founder Larry Page and Peter Diamandis of the X-Prize Foundation among its investors - also expects to rent out cosmic viewing time on the telescopes to astronomers.