Asteroids in the service of humanity

TL;DR

This paper advocates for a comprehensive international effort to explore asteroids, emphasizing scientific, safety, and resource utilization benefits, and highlights the synergy among these goals for advancing space exploration.

Contribution

It proposes a coordinated global program to explore and utilize asteroids, emphasizing their scientific, hazard mitigation, and resource potential as interconnected objectives.

Findings

Asteroids offer valuable scientific insights.

Exploring asteroids can mitigate impact risks.

Utilization of asteroid resources can support space activities.

Abstract

There are at least three compelling reasons for the human race to initiate a major programme to explore and better understand the 'minor planets' of the Solar System: (1) Enhancing scientific knowledge; (2) Mitigating the impact hazard; and (3) Utilizing extraterrestrial resources. Strong synergies exist between all three. Moreover, all these activities would benefit from greater international cooperation in space exploration by the World's space agencies, and the recognition that asteroids are important targets for human and robotic exploration.