Future large-scale space operations, including space hotels, solar power satellites, and orbital factories, will require volatiles such as water, methane, ammonia, and carbon dioxide.* These materials can be used to produce propellant, metal for...

Raw resources and minerals could be mined from an asteroid in space using a variety of methods. Even a relatively small asteroid with a diameter of 1 km can contain billions of metric tons of raw materials. In 2004, the world production of iron ore...