Asteroid and lunar space resources for future space industry: Critical materials, in-situ resource utilization and governance challenges

The utilization of resources in extraterrestrial environments is indispensable for enabling and facilitating future deep space exploration by humans and promoting prosperity on Earth. Most advanced technologies, including renewable energy systems, electronics, defence applications and space systems, depend on selected critical raw materials, including Rare Earth Elements (REEs) and Platinum Group Metals (PGMs). REEs are critical components of modern high-technology systems, including renewable energy infrastructure, electronics, defense systems, space applications and advanced computing technologies. However, rare elements (RE) present in asteroids and smaller objects, if carefully extracted and transported down to Earth, could reduce the cost of manufacturing of numerous products (e.g smart equipment) and in addition could, in the long term, reduce selected environmental pressures associated with terrestrial mining, provided that space extraction and return operations are demonstrably safe and sustainable as well as sensitive geopolitical issues. Asteroid mining has emerged as a strategic but still highly experimental pathway for future space resource utilization however, there is lack of space mining technologies, space capture technologies, space law, and many others. Asteroids, particularly metallic and carbonaceous types, are supposed to contain significant concentrations of valuable metals and RRE. This perspective paper explores the feasibility of extracting REEs (and/or PGMs) from asteroids and discusses potential asteroid capture and resource utilization techniques that could support future space-based infrastructure and human expansion beyond Earth. In addition to asteroids, the Moon is examined as the most realistic near-term platform for in-situ resource utilization (ISRU), owing to its abundant regolith, water ice, helium-3, and selected critical minerals. Lunar resource extraction is discussed as an intermediate step toward validating technologies, operational concepts, and governance frameworks required for future asteroid mining missions. The paper evaluates technological, economic, and engineering challenges while considering how asteroid resource utilization could contribute to long-term space settlement, particularly in the context of Mars exploration and off-world industrial ecosystems. Although significant obstacles remain, advances in robotics, propulsion, autonomous mining systems, and orbital mechanics suggest that asteroid and lunar resource extraction may eventually become a cornerstone of a sustainable space economy.