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NASA finds the biggest gold reservoir in the universe

HalfDimeHalfDime Posts: 461 ✭✭✭✭
in Precious Metals

For centuries, NASA has gazed at the night sky, dreaming of untapped wealth in the cosmos. With improvements in spaceflight and robotics, that dream is edging closer to reality—private companies and national agencies alike now eye asteroids not just for science, but for the raw materials they harbor. At the forefront is 16 Psyche, a massive metal-rich asteroid nestled in the main belt, and a prime candidate in this unfolding space-age prospecting race. In some cases, the universe holds more gold and precious rocks in an asteroid than it has on Earth.

In 2019, astronomers stunned the public with rough estimates valuing Psyche’s metal reserves—iron, nickel, and gold—as high as $700 quintillion, a figure so large it made headlines suggesting “everyone on Earth could become billionaires.” The number sparked not just excitement, but real-world conversations about the future of mining and resource economics—up to and including fears about crashing global markets, inflation, or the geopolitical scramble that might follow.

Now, NASA is shifting from speculation toward action. Its Psyche spacecraft, launched in October 2023, is designed not to mine, but to map and analyze the asteroid’s structure and composition—offering critical data ahead of any possible extraction. That mission, set to reach Psyche in 2029, could redefine not just our understanding of planetary cores but also whether cosmic gold is a legend or a ledger we can actually balance.
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It's years away but someday the US Mint could offer asteroid gold coins.

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