We commonly think of asteroids simply as left over debris from when the planets were formed, but researchers believe that we will be able to harness resources from them within the next 10 years. The most common type of asteroid, C-type, contains up to 20% water as well as various metals. The presence of water has a potentially useful application, that is to be converted into rocket fuel. If this practice is perfected, rockets will have a far less restricted distance that they can travel, allowing for exploration farther away than has ever been done before by humans. In addition to water, platinum group metals, which are valuable and have other useful applications, are also found in many asteroids. Planetary Resources, an asteroid-mining company based in Washington, believes that they will be one of the first to contribute to the just started asteroid-mining market. Planetary Resources has already launched their first probe into space and believes that they might be the first to use resources from asteroids, in as little as 5 years. These new developments do have the potential to create problems, and there will need to be some sort of organizational system in place before the market for asteroid-mining grows too large. While harnessing resources from asteroids complies with the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, Congress is looking into legislation regarding asteroid-miners’ property rights.
An interesting video about the basic elements of asteroid-mining can be found here.
Andrew's Solar System Blog 
Hey Andrew, can you explain a bit on how to use water as a rocket fuel. Basically, we are commonly using normal fuel like petrol since it is highly flammable and have lower specific heat capacity compared to water or are you saying about liquid oxidizers which is commonly use as the rocket fuel.
LikeLike
I would be curious to know where exactly these asteroids are being mined. I mean, it’s not everyday we hear about an asteroid hitting the surface of the Earth. Also, I wonder what the environmental impact of this asteroid mining will be, especially since you mentioned that the industry will only be growing throughout the next few years.
LikeLike
I find it interesting that although Planetary Resources is taking the initiative on asteroid mining, you mentioned asteroid mining is a market that will only get bigger in coming years. I’ve always thought of space travel as being handled and funded by the government only, but could this discovery that certain asteroids may be able to be used for rocket fuel lead to private companies gaining stake in this market and sending people to the Moon one day?
LikeLike
Ignore my first comment. I was confused and misinterpreted the post.
LikeLiked by 1 person