Asteroid Mining Company Raises $1 Million for Public-Access Space Telescope

Even as "sequestration" means hits to NASA programs, private citizens are taking matters into their own hands through a number of means, as seen in Elon Musk's SpaceX or Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic.

The latest example, however, doesn't come from the pocket of a self-made entrepreneur, but rather average individuals via the crowdsourcing platform Kickstarter.

Planetary Resources, a company aimed at developing the technology to mine asteroids, teamed up with the Museum of Flight and the Planetary Society to launch a fundraising campaign for the space telescope Arkyd on May 29.

Now, more than a week away from the end of its funding period, the project has raised more than $1 million through over 13,000 backers as of the time this article was written.

What will the telescope do exactly?

Well, that depends on how much the project raises.

Given that the primary purpose of the company is to mine asteroids, the main goal of the Arkyd telescope will be to identify asteroids ripe for further exploration, according to those behind it.

However, because this isn't necessarily a full time gig, the company plans on using the money crowdfunded in several other preoccupations for the space telescope as well. This includes giving students of all ages the ability to direct Arkyd and explore what interests them. To do this, those overseeing the project say they plan on developing new educational opportunities for K-12 programs.

Additionally, because there are thousands of institutions and researchers in need of greater access to in-orbit space observatories, Arkyd will provide a new, low-cost resource to help researchers gain a look at distant galaxies, planets and potentially dangerous asteroids.

For those who are not a student or scientist, Arkyd still holds potential excitement: those who pledge money to the project will be given the opportunity to decide what they want the telescope to examine and photograph, which will then be available to a website and mobile apps.

Finally, because Arkyd will be equipped with an external screen and camera, its developers plan on taking and uploading pictures of individuals to the screen, and then taking an image of it as appears with Earth as a background. Not surprisingly, the name of this part of the project has been titled Space Selfies.

However, should the project receive more $2 million or more in fundraising, another major feature upgrade will be added. By enhancing the space telescope's stability systems and by dedicating the time to monitoring candidate star systems, Arkyd will be used in the task of locating alien worlds.

According to George Whitesides, the CEO of Virgin Galactic, even should the project fall short of the $2 million mark, Arkyd is one for the people.

"This campaign could make space accessible to people around the world," he said, adding that, as far he and his company goes, they "are happy to cheer on this effort because that's what we're about, too!"