There is an asteroid drifting about in space named 16 Psyche that is believed to be worth $700 quintillion; if NASA were to capture it and split it equally among the people, each person would get almost $93 billion.
While that is not NASA's intention, the asteroid will nonetheless be visited, and much sooner than you may imagine.
The asteroid was discovered in 1852 by Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis, and NASA will now analyze its features. Given the size of 16 Psyche and its content of 95% metals (iron and nickel), NASA will not visit the asteroid for its incredible value, but rather for a wonderful comparison of its composition to that of Earth.
Scientists think that since asteroids have a composition extremely similar to that of Earth, we may learn something entirely new about how our own core functions or how planets are created.
In terms of monetary worth, several businesses have already established and are focussing their efforts on developing the infrastructure necessary for space mining.
Companies such as EuroSun Mining are focusing their efforts on the space economy, which Morgan Stanley estimates is worth $350 billion now but will reach $2.7 trillion by 2040.
Scott Moore, the CEO of EuroSun Mining has said "What we're doing on the ground now may be impressive, but like everything else, even gold exploration in space is only a matter of infrastructure. We'll get to it, eventually."
He continues and says "This may be the Holy Grail of space exploration for gold, but it won't be the first stop on this adventure. It's already happening from an investment perspective. And the Asteroid Belt is just one aspect of this market. The entire global space market is worth hundreds of billions already."
16 Psych is now positioned 750 million kilometers from Earth. NASA aims to deploy its spacecraft Psyche to the asteroid in August 2022, and it will arrive in 2026 after Mars' gravitational pull increases in 2023.
700 quintillion divided by 7.5 billion is a total of 93 billion for each individual.
Here is some data about this asteroid that might interest you:
The asteroid has the name of a legendary nymph who was Cupid's bride.
Annibale de Gasparis, an Italian astronomer, discovered it in 1852.
If the projected worth of the asteroid were distributed equally among all humans on Earth, each individual would get $93 billion.
It has an average diameter of 140 miles (226 kilometers), which is about the distance between Los Angeles and San Diego or roughly the length of Massachusetts.
It has a surface size of 246,300 square miles (641,800 square kilometers)—just a little less than Texas.
According to radar investigations, 16 Psyche is shaped like a potato.
The asteroid is about three times the distance between the Earth and the Sun.
In 2017, NASA's Psyche mission was authorized.
Reference(s): NASA