Since the 1990s, the Colorado School of Mines has been a leading institution for the study of space resources and in situ resource utilization (ISRU). It has also become a destination for space scientists and engineers, government agencies, aerospace companies, entrepreneurs, the mining and minerals industry, financial and legal experts, and policy makers to discuss all topics related to space resources.
The Colorado School of Mines is planning to launch in 2018 a multi-disciplinary graduate program in Space Resources to offer a Post-Baccalaureate certificate and a Master of Science degree for college graduates and professionals interested in this emerging arena. Qualified students who want to pursue research through a Ph.D. in collaborating departments at Mines are also sought. The proposed program will focus on developing core knowledge and gaining design practices in systems for responsible exploration, extraction, and use of resources in the Solar System.
They have had a pilot class on space mining.
Paul Spudis was a guest lecturer. He showed charts and maps and data about possible resources on the moon.
The company Moon Express is planning to land there in 2018, in a bid to win the Google Lunar X Prize.
There are companies like Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries who are targeting asteroid mining.
Extracting water from the moon and asteroids for use as lower cost fuel in space and for potential colonization and other projects is a main focus.
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