Californian startup AstroForge could begin implementing its ambitious plan relatively soon
AstroForge, founded by Matt Gialich andJose Acain in January 2022, raised $13 million, which will be used to achieve the company's goal – mining of platinum group metals on asteroids.
“The $13 million we justcollected will allow us to expand our test center, hire several people and complete the first demonstration run,” – said Gialich. “A real dream for us– go into deep space and collect resources from there.”
According to TechCrunch, the company has developeda technique for extracting materials from asteroids with a diameter of 20 to 1500 meters. Instead of landing probes on the surface, the company will break apart asteroids from a distance and collect valuable materials. The January 2023 demonstration, if it goes ahead, would involve the launch of a "reprocessing payload" that would handle an asteroid sample in orbit.