The Daily BuzzA tiny European country looks to Space for economic stimulus
[Luxembourg is the first country in Europe to stake out rights for the mining of so-called “near-Earth objects” such as asteroids, according to officials/AFP Photo]
The tiny European country of Luxembourg has announced an ambitious economic plan: it wants to begin mining in space.
“Our aim is to open access to a wealth of previously unexplored mineral resources on lifeless rocks hurling through space, without damaging natural habitats,” Etienne Schneider, the country’s economic minister, said in a statement released online.
The country plans on partnering with two space development agencies, Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries, to extract metals, such as iron, gold and platinum from asteroids.
Mining some asteroids apparently can have huge payoffs. Mic.com reported that one steroid held so much platinum it was worth more than the entire GDP of the United Kingdom.
Luxembourg isn’t the only country looking forward to their space game. U.S. President Barack Obama signed an Asteroid Resource Property Rights law and Japan launched its own asteroid mining project in 2015.
