China to send first-ever �asteroid mining robot� into space this November

New Delhi, 28-Sep-2020

China will send out the world�s first mining robot into space by November this year. A private Beijing company, Origin Space, will send out the world�s first mining robot termed as an �asteroid mining robot� into space by November 2020, according to the IEEE Specturm report. The robot will, however, not do any actual mining. The mission will be a preliminary assessment of the asteroid mining robot�s capabilities of identifying and extracting valuable resources, aimed at the eventual mining of asteroids. The 30-gram spacecraft, NEO-1, is likely to be launched as a secondary payload on a Chinese Long March rocket, which will enter at an orbit around the earth at 500-kilometre altitude. In an interview, Origin Space co-founder Yu Tianhong told the US magazine, �The goal is to verify and demonstrate multiple functions such as spacecraft orbital manoeuvre, simulated small celestial body capture, intelligent spacecraft identification and control.� The actual progress that can be made by the NEO-1 mission is subject to speculations, as it has never been attempted before. The project, if successful, can open up a trillion-dollar industry. The mission will be a milestone for the space resources industry, the firm added. The Chinese company has another mission �Yuanwang-1�, nicknamed �Little Hubble�, which is slated to be launched by late 2021 or early 2022.