Little Luxembourg funds space to grow
LUXEMBOURG is investing à25-million (about R375.5-million) in privately owned Planetary Resources, an asteroid mining startup also backed by Google co-founder Larry Page.
About half of the investment is a direct capital injection into the firm, which is based in the US state of Washington.
The remainder will be in the form of grants and other money for research and development that will take place at a new facility in Luxembourg, Planetary Resources said.
The company previously raised $21.1-million (about R286-million) from private investors, including Page, and venture capital funds.
Combined, the financing should be enough for Planetary Resources to launch its first commercial asteroid prospecting mission by 2020, according to president Chris Lewicki.
Asteroids are chunks of primitive rocky bodies that orbit the sun. Some pass relatively close to Earth.
Planetary Resources and other companies are developing sensors to scan them for water, carbon, metals and other resources that can be used in space to refuel rockets and construct equipment.
In September, SpaceX chief Elon Musk unveiled a Mars colonisation plan that includes refuelling rockets from in-space fuel depots.
The prospecting sensors can also be installed on satellites circling Earth to measure temperatures and map resources on the planet for commercial and scientific projects, Lewicki said.
In addition to its investment in Planetary Resources, Luxembourg has a preliminary agreement to co-fund a prototype prospecting spacecraft being developed by another asteroid-mining startup, Deep Space Industries of Mountain View, California.
A representative from Luxembourg will join Planetary Resources’ board of directors.
In 1985, Luxembourg became a founding investor and shareholder of SES, now the world’s largest communication satellite operator.
Luxembourg Deputy Prime Minister Etienne Schneider said the Planetary Resources investment demonstrated the country’s “strong commitment to support the national space sector by attracting innovative activities in space resource utilisation”.