From a Space.com article:

On April 13, 2029, the asteroid 99942 Apophis is expected to pass a mere 18,600 miles (30,000 km.) above Earth's surface.

Therefore, I propose that by April 13, 2029 we will have mined at least 51% of Apophis and sent the mined portion safely on its way to Earth.

Strictly speaking it's not really necessary to have done this on Apophis itself. Proving the technology by doing an equivalent amount of mining on a different asteroid and sending that material on its way toward Earth would be sufficient. However, I think the public relations impact would be greater if the target was Apophis.

The largest safety concern would be to make sure that our operations did not deflect Apophis any closer to Earth. Just the opposite if we can manage it.

As a fallback goal, should everything proceed too slowly to reach the main goal, we could use the 2029 flyby as an opportunity to rendezvous a full-sized miner-refiner with Apophis and start the process of harvesting it.

2011

Land the testbed system on an asteroid and commence mining/refining.

2014

First followon mission, including return of at least some asteroidal resources to the Earth/Moon system.

2020

Land a full scale system on Apophis.

April 13, 2029

Finish mining, refining and safely shipping toward Earth at least 51% of Apophis.

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Last Modified: July 3, 2006