Water is the most valuable thing in space, not gold, not platinum, not any rare metal — because water can be split into rocket fuel anywhere sunlight reaches, which means the first company to mine it

The popular picture of mining in space is precious metal: an asteroid packed with platinum, worth some unfathomable sum, towed home to make someone rich. The more serious answer is duller and far more useful. The resource that matters most out there is water. Not because water is rare in space, but because of what […] The popular picture of mining in space is precious metal: an asteroid packed with platinum, worth some unfathomable sum, towed home to make someone rich. The more serious answer is duller and far more useful. The resource that matters most out there ... [3997 chars]