Luxembourg Now Testing Its Space Mining Technology

Luxembourg's Spacecraft Will Test Its Asteroid Mining Tech

It will use a water-based propulsion system

Mariella Moon | May 8, 2016

Luxembourg is pouring some of its wealth into the development and launch of a spacecraft that could make it even richer. The tiny European country has teamed up with California-based Deep Space Industries to create Prospector-X, an experimental spacecraft designed to test some of their asteroid-mining technologies.
DSI will equip the spacecraft with its water-based propulsion and optical navigation systems. The team then plans to send the 30-centimeter (or around 12-inch) probe to low-Earth orbit "in the near future" to make sure their design works. 

Prospector-X™: An International Mission to Test Technologies for Asteroid Mining. Deep Space Industries and the Luxembourg Government announce partnership to commercialize space resources. "It's estimated that in the last 50 years, more than 2,000 small spacecraft have been deployed into low Earth orbit." Source: https://deepspaceindustries.com/prospector-x-an-international-mission-to-test-technologies-for-asteroid-mining/ 

<more at http://www.engadget.com/2016/05/08/luxembourg-asteroid-mining-prospector-x/; related articles and links: https://deepspaceindustries.com/prospector-x/ (Prospector-X™. Technology to Fuel the Future) and http://www.wort.lu/en/business/prospector-x-luxembourg-reaches-for-the-stars-with-asteroid-mining-deal-572c359fac730ff4e7f5ffb4 (Luxembourg reaches for the stars with asteroid mining deal. May 10, 2016)>