A year after losing contact with its deep-space probe Odin, AstroForge is preparing for another launch—this time attempting to reach a metal-rich asteroid in a bid to prove that mining precious metals in space is possible.
“DeepSpace-2 is scheduled to fly in the fourth quarter of this year,” co-founder and CEO Matt Gialich told the Business Journal on June 17.
The Seal Beach-based startup, which aims to bring valuable metals such as platinum back to Earth, said the second mission—featuring a slingshot maneuver around the moon—will cost less than $10.5 million, including launch.
The company’s Odin spacecraft was launched successfully in early 2025, but it soon encountered huge communication difficulties, possibly tumbling through deep space.
Exactly where the new craft will be headed is open to question.
“We are still considering a number of potential asteroid targets. Unlike traditional deep-space missions that commit to a destination years in advance, DeepSpace-2 can evaluate multiple candidate asteroids right up until the lunar gravity assist that places the spacecraft on its interplanetary trajectory. That flexibility allows AstroForge to incorporate the latest observations and target the most attractive asteroid available at the time of flight,” Gialich said.
Nine Months to Destination
And for those who like instant results some patience is in order: Gialich said it will take a “total of 9 months” for the spacecraft to reach its destination.
AstroForge had raised $55 million in financing as of 2024, in what could be viewed as a long-shot bid to reap commercial returns from mining asteroids, The startup announced on June 3 it has completed assembly of the DeepSpace-2 spacecraft.
Once deployed from the lander, the 200-kilogram (440-pound) spacecraft is to “slingshot around the moon” and head toward its target — one of “about 28 candidate asteroids” thought to be made of metal.
AstroForge will choose among them closer to launch, industry website Aerospace America said.
“Although the main objective is to verify the spacecraft’s performance, DeepSpace-2 will also attempt to photograph the target asteroid and perhaps attempt to land — or at least crash into it,” according to the website.
Opening Up Deep Space
The planned hookup is a crucial step toward AstroForge’s long-term goal of mining asteroids for precious metals such as platinum and, in the process, opening up deep space to routine exploration and further commercialization.
Retrieving platinum metals is a key goal of the planned asteroid missions, which once seemed more like science fiction than reality.
The platinum metals are used in products ranging from jewelry to catalytic converters in cars, to electronics and cancer-fighting drugs.
