cnet reports that scientists have calculated the likely precious metal content of an asteroid in Earth's vicinity to be $11.65 trillion (US).

It may contain more metal than all of Earth's current reserves.

This puts the billions of dollars being poured into commercial space development into perspective.

Another asteroid - which will be the target of a NASA satellite mission due to launch next year - may be worth over $10,000 quadrillion (US).

References

Greicius, Tony (May 5, 2020). Psyche Overview. NASA.

NASA. Exploring the Metal-Rich Asteroid Psyche. (viewed October 5, 2021) [Image source]

Ravisetti, Monisha (October 4, 2021) Rare asteroids near Earth may become targets for space mining. cnet.