The second moon that Earth now has for two months may seem like just a fun curiosity, but it’s also a sneak peek at a future space industry that could change our global economy.
An asteroid called 2024 PT5, which normally orbits the sun as part of the Arjuna asteroid belt, was captured in Earth’s orbit on Sunday, according to astronomers’ projections. Astronomers expect it to spend about 57 days traveling along a horseshoe-shaped path around Earth before rejoining its asteroid belt.
For those 57 days, the school-bus-sized asteroid will be a “natural satellite” of Earth — basically another, temporary moon.
That makes it economically intriguing. “Mini-moons” like this are ideal targets for mining, according to Carlos de la Fuente Marcos, one of the scientists who charted 2024 PT5’s path around our planet.
Asteroid miningcould someday help humans travel further out into the cosmos and extend our presence through the solar system. …