New Delhi: Tonight an asteroid is set to whizz past Earth! This particular one, called asteroid 2011 UW-158, which measures around 452 metres by 1,011 metres is thought to harbour an estimated $US5.4 trillion worth of platinum.
The mineral-rich comet has already been spotted by Puerto Rico’s Arecibo Observatory, who shared the first detailed images on Twitter.
Primeras imágenes detalladas del Asteroide 2011 UW158 @DeborahWAPA https://t.co/GJfXdCIklL pic.twitter.com/fFp1Dp6sQo
— Arecibo Observatory (@NAICobservatory) July 17, 2015
Its platinum content is already being eyed-up by asteroid mining venture Planetary Resources as suitable for mining. Asteroid mining could be an extremely useful business for agencies like NASA, which hopes to capture an asteroid and bring it in orbit around the Moon soon enough for future astronauts to visit it and collect samples by as early as 2025.
NASA says that the materials frozen in asteroids could “be used in developing the space structures and in generating the rocket fuel that will be required to exploreand colonise our solar system in the twenty-first century”.
You can checkout the live broadcast via Slooh:
Join us today @ 6pm ET to talk asteroid mining & watch the #TrillionDollarBaby fly by Earth! http://t.co/yY6M0elnHI pic.twitter.com/HdxWgDW7Rz
— SLOOH (@Slooh) July 19, 2015
