Commercial Landscape of Space Resources in 2021 – Industry Survey
Erik Kulu, erik.kulu@factoriesinspace.com
Space Resources Week 2021, April 19-23

Introduction

Statistical Overview

Example Commercial Entities

New in-space economy fields are emerging. Factories in Space isthe largest public database of commercial entities in the emerging
in-space economy, space resources and microgravity manufacturing fields. The directory started in 2018 and has over 300 entries.

Based on the 44 applicable entries from the larger database.

Prospecting

Classification with Status of Space Resources Companies
RecyclingStatus1) Active2) Demonstrated3) Development
4) Early stage5) Concept
6) Dormant

Processing
Prospecting

Classification & Glossary

ISRU

What are space resources? How do the companies classify?
Space Resources field divides into the following.

Mining0In-Space Economy - New extraterrestrial space industries.
Space Resources - Deals with the prospecting, mining, beneficiation, processing, ISRU and recycling of natural or artifical resourcesin space, including Moon, Mars and asteroids.

Recycling - Reprocessing artificial objects including satellites andspent rocket stages into raw materials or reusing parts of them fornew missions.
Raw Materials - Selling processed materials like ice, water,oxygen and metals.
Leaving out broader support services and potential customers
starting with Propellant Refuel Stations, Space Utilities (Energy,In-Space Internet etc) and In-Space Transportation.

10Number of organizationsm) Yes, but unknowni) $50−100m

Recycling (Space Debris )h) $10−50m

Categories
ISRU
MiningProcessing
Prospecting
Recyclingg) $5−10mf) $1−5me) $0.1−1md) <$0.1mc) <$0.01mb) Unknown

Prospecting - Determining the composition of asteroids and planets with mining and ISRU in mind.

Processing or Beneficiation - Separating valuable minerals fromwaste rock.

5ISRU (In-Situ Resource Utilization)

Funding with Classification of Space Resources Companies

ISRU (In-Situ Resource Utilization) - Any hardware or operationthat harnesses and utilizes ‘in-situ’ resources to create products
and services for robotic and human exploration [1]. Encompasses
exploration, mine planning, mineral processing, metallurgy andsale of off-Earth resources [7].

Mining (Asteroid Mining, Lunar Mining) - Extracting and collecting the raw resources from planetoids or planetary surfaces.

01036
Number of organizations

9Selected Markets: Further Look

12Asteroid mining: “The global asteroid mining market was valued
at $712.0 million in 2017 and is projected to reach $3,868.9 millionby 2025” [2] “The space mining market was valued at $0.49 billion
in 2017 and is expected to reach 2.84 billion by 2025.” [3]Founding Years with Classification of Space Resources Companies

8Categories
ISRU
MiningProcessing
Prospecting
Recycling

6420Helium-3: “The price of gaseous He3 has recently increased from$200 per liter to over $2750. Consumption in the USA is about
60,000 L (8 kg) per year (2014).” [4] Revenue can be $165 million.
Recycling: “8000+ tons of space debris incl. 250 tons of aluminium
from Ariane upper stages to save billions in launch costs.” [5]6 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 2099999000000000000000000000
1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2Companies founded

Geographical Distribution of of Space Resources Companies

References
2010510Factories in Space

Mining (Asteroid & Lunar Mining) / Processing / Beneficiation[1] https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/203084main_ISRU%20TEC%2011-07%20V3.pdf[2] https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/asteroid-mining-market[3] https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/space-mining-market-129545886.html[4] https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/22/6134[5] https://indico.esa.int/event/234/contributions/4019/attachments/3018/3639/RFC-OrbitRecycling-Waste-or-Value.pdf[6] https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-selects-companies-to-collect-lunar-resources-for-artemis-demonstrations[7] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBjzkeui-x4[8] http://www.sei.aero/archive/IAC-07-A5.1.03.pdf

Last update 2021-04-09