Why does space mining matter for humanity?

Because a growing civilization needs vast raw materials, and Earth's supply is finite, costly, or destructive to extract. I predict asteroids will one day provide what is scarce or environmentally brutal to mine here. The pattern is 5,000 years old: we mined the earth, we mine the oceans, of course we mine space. Planetary Resources calculated that 1 platinum-rich asteroid holds nearly 175 times earth's annual platinum output, and I put space mining at $3 trillion a year by 2050, the strategic endgame of my 2018 call. Moving extraction off-planet is not just an opportunity. It is a release valve for an economy slamming into the physical limits of a single world.