Asteroid mining expert AstroForge announced the preparation of its third space mission, Vestri, which is scheduled for 2025. This mission seeks to dock with a near-Earth asteroid to extract and analyze possible valuable minerals, specifically iron, with the goal of transforming the supply chain of raw materials for the planet.
The asteroid mining mission
The announcement follows the success of AstroForge’s first mission in 2023 and the upcoming launch of its second mission, Odin, later this year. Vestri, the 200 kg spacecraft assigned for the third mission, will be developed in-house and is designed to perform complex docking maneuvers in deep space, enabling detailed characterization of the target asteroid.
In addition, the company has raised a Series A financing round of $40 million, led by Nova Threshold and with participation from investors such as 776, Initialized, Caladan, YC, Uncorrelated Ventures and Jed McCaleb. This funding brings the total raised by the company to $55 million, strengthening its capabilities and development in the in the field of space mining.
The company’s facilities in Huntington Beach, California. Source: Initialized Capital
If the Vestri mission is successful, it would become the first private mission to land and conduct operations on a celestial body outside the Earth-Moon system, a historic event for space exploration.“The horizon looks bright, and if we are successful, this will be a major step forward in creating a new supply chain of raw materials for Earth,” noted AstroForge’s CEO.
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Source: AstroForge
Photo: AI-generated
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