An asteroid has sped pass Earth at a distance of just 1.5 million miles away, with some onlookers interested in more than just its scientific importance.
Asteroid 2011 UW-158 passed 30 times closer than our nearest planet, according to Slooh Community Observatory.
It is not due to pass as close to Earth again for another three years but experts have told Sky News that it may look a bit different by then.
The asteroid, which measures around half a mile across, has a core made from platinum and worth an estimated £3.5 trillion and astronomer Bob Berman says private companies are making moves towards mining it.
He said: “There’s the little matter of the 1967 Space Treaty and almost all countries have signed that saying no nations can claim a celestial body but it doesn’t say anything about companies, corporations, firms, private entities.
“Nations cannot claim a celestial object but a private company can so if they can get there and they can mine it with all that platinum then good luck to them, it’s all theirs.”
He said Planetary Resources, which recently launched a rocket from the International Space Station, was known to be keen on the idea and he added: “At first they were hoping for the platinum which this asteroid contains but nowadays they’re thinking of water, which can be more valuable or even more valuable to the International Space Station or other astronauts.”
Space journalist Sarah Cruddas said the asteroid belt has enough minerals to “redefine wealth on Earth so it could technically make everyone on Earth a trillionaire”.
She added: “The first space race was driven by politics… but space can’t be driven by politics. What it’s going to be driven by is business and business investment in space.
“You’re seeing a new industry emerging.
“Where we are in terms of exploiting space resources now is the same as where we were with the internet 20 years ago and who would have thought that would explode and change the world in the way it did?”
According to their website, Planetary Resources launched a spacecraft from the ISS on Thursday last week beginning a 90-day mission to test the avionics, control systems and software needed to mine asteroids.
In 2013, Deep Space Industries voiced similar ambitions.
Meanwhile, Mr Berman said the public had nothing to fear from this particular asteroid, which passed so far away that it could not be seen with the naked eye.
“This still puts it many times further away than the moon so this time we’re safe and the next time it passes Earth we’re safe too.
“Before that time, maybe those guys will have succeeded in snagging (the asteroid) and mining it.”
