10 Top Space Mining Companies and Startups to Watch in 2025

Space mining startups are improving the future of resource extraction by targeting asteroids and the moon for critical metals and materials essential to Earth’s clean energy transition and expanding space infrastructure.

In this article, we spotlight 10 space mining startups poised to redefine what is possible in 2025. These ventures were selected based on their technological innovation, mission milestones, and funding momentum, positioning them as key players in the emerging off-world economy.

Global Startup Heat Map highlights Emerging Space Mining Companies to Watch

Through the Big Data & Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, covering over 7M+ startups, 20K+ technology trends plus 150M+ patents, news articles & market reports, we identified 10 space mining startups.

The Global Startup Heat Map below highlights the emerging space mining companies you should watch in 2025 as well as the geo-distribution of 60+ space mining startups & scaleups we analyzed for this research.

According to our data, we observe high startup activity in the US and Canada, followed by Australia. The top 5 Startup Hubs for space mining are Singapore, Toronto, Bangalore, Dubai, and London.

Meet Emerging Space Mining Companies to Watch in 2025

We hand-picked startups to showcase in this report by filtering for their technology, founding year, location, funding, and other metrics. These 10 space mining companies work on solutions ranging from lunar water purification and electrical space propulsion to lunar power and mining, as well as the advanced lunar rover.

1. Terra Luna – Lunar Water Purification
2. Aganitha Space – Low-Cost Electricity Generation for Space Missions
3. Astrum Drive – Electrical Space Propulsion
4. Orbital Mining – Lunar Power and Mining
5. Space to Space – Asteroid-Fuelled Propulsion
6. IMENSUS – 3D Geological Models for Lunar Mining
7. PLANETES – Asteroid Resource Extraction
8. ELO2 – Advanced Lunar Rover
9. Outer Rim Exploration (ORE) – Muon Detection Technology
10. Ethos Space – Lunar Regolith Extraction & Processing

1. Terra Luna

• Founding Year: 2022
• Location: Toronto, Canada
• Use For: Lunar Water Refinery

Terra Luna develops lunar water refineries that extract and purify water from icy lunar soil. This technology heats lunar regolith to release trapped water molecules, captures the resulting vapor, and processes it through a multi-stage filtration system.

Further, the extracted water supports lunar bases through direct consumption, oxygen generation, plant cultivation, and hydrogen-oxygen propellant production. This solution reduces transport costs by utilizing local resources, enabling sustained lunar operations and supporting humanity’s expansion beyond Earth.

2. Aganitha Space

• Founding Year: 2023
• Location: Hyderabad, India
• Use For: Low-cost Electricity Generation Mechanism

Aganitha Space develops low-cost electricity generation mechanisms to support sustainable energy needs in space missions. The technology combusts methane to produce high-temperature heat, which is then converted into electricity as an efficient power source for extraterrestrial environments.

Moreover, this solution reduces dependency on Earth-based fuel supplies and minimizes carbon emissions. Further, it enhances the feasibility of long-duration space exploration and contributes to the advancement of space mining by addressing the critical challenge of energy sustainability beyond Earth.

3. Astrum Drive

• Founding Year: 2021
• Location: Frisco, USA
• Use For: Electrical Powered Space Propellant-less Propulsion

Astrum Drive develops propellantless electrical space propulsion that enables asteroid mining operations. It utilizes 4He-based closed-cycle technology to convert electricity into motion using helium’s superfluidity phase transition.

Further, it releases only heat without any propellant. This innovation increases spacecraft cargo capacity while allowing long-term operation without refueling.

The extended operational range enables mining vessels to reach distant asteroids, maintain position during extraction operations, and return valuable resources to Earth or space-based facilities. The startup also eliminates traditional limitations of chemical propulsion systems, allowing access to the vast mineral wealth of the asteroid belt.

4. Orbital Mining

• Founding Year: 2022
• Location: Golden, USA
• Use For: Lunar Power and Mining

Orbital Mining extracts lunar resources to generate power and propellant directly on the moon’s surface. It utilizes robotic systems to harvest regolith and uses thermal processing to convert the extracted materials into usable energy and rocket fuel.

Its in-situ resource utilization approach reduces dependency on Earth supplies, thereby operating autonomously in the lunar environment. The startup enables sustainable space exploration by providing a critical infrastructure for long-term lunar operations, thus reducing mission costs.

5. Space to Space

• Founding Year: 2023
• Location: Delaware, USA
• Use For: Asteroid-fuelled Propulsion

Space to Space leverages vacuum arc thruster technology to develop asteroid-fueled propulsion systems. These systems create electric arcs between electrodes, converting solid metal into high-velocity plasma that generates thrust.

The thruster operates through thousands of short pulses, enabling precise control for orbit raising, maintenance, and collision avoidance.

Further, the small satellites achieve altitude increases with brief thruster operation. The startup transforms satellite capabilities through resource-sustainable propulsion technology that extends mission lifespans in congested orbital environments.

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6. IMENSUS

• Founding Year: 2022
• Location: Baden-Württemberg, Germany
• Use For: 3D Geological Models for Lunar Mining

IMENSUS utilizes autonomous seismic exploration technology for lunar subsurface mapping. The system generates ground vibrations with a specialized seismic source. Wireless lunaphones detect waves reflected at geological boundaries, and AI algorithms transform these signals into detailed 3D models showing resources, cavities, and structural features.

Moreover, the startup delivers real-time geological data to space agencies and mining companies. This innovation enables precise resource extraction planning and supports stable infrastructure development and safe astronaut mobility.

IMENSUS technology also underpins sustainable lunar operations and expands human presence beyond Earth.

7. PLANETES

• Founding Year: 2022
• Location: Singapore
• Use For: Asteroid Resource Extraction

PLANETES extracts valuable resources from asteroids and the moon to address Earth’s depleting supplies of rare metals and oil. The startup develops innovative mining technology that harvests space-based materials, thereby creating a new economic sphere where resources are produced locally in space.

Further, this approach reduces dependency on current limited reserves while addressing the growing global shortage of critical metals. PLANETES’s asteroid mining operations enable sustainable resource utilization both in orbit and on Earth, establishing a future where humanity can access and utilize space resources effectively.

8. ELO2

• Founding Year: 2023
• Location: Brisbane, Australia
• Use For: Lunar Rover

ELO2 develops lunar rovers that collect regolith for oxygen extraction on the moon. This solution navigates challenging lunar terrain through specialized wheels and autonomous systems.

Moreover, the startup operates these rovers remotely via lunar outpost stargate mission software, demonstrated in tests on simulated moon surfaces.

Further, ELO2 leads the way in creating infrastructure for lunar mining operations that support sustainable space exploration missions.

9. Outer Rim Exploration (ORE)

• Founding Year: 2023
• Location: Tokyo, Japan
• Use For: Muon-detecting Technology

Outer Rim Exploration (ORE) leverages muon-detection technology for mineral discovery beneath Earth’s surface. The startup monitors cosmic muons as they penetrate underground layers, hence creating detailed subsurface images without invasive drilling.

Further, the detectors track muon absorption patterns to identify valuable green mineral deposits. The technology integrates AI algorithms with data fusion techniques to interpret mineral compositions precisely at previously inaccessible depths.

This innovative approach reduces exploration costs and supports global sustainability objectives through efficient resource identification.

10. Ethos Space

• Founding Year: 2022
• Location: Los Angeles, USA
• Use For: Extracting and Processing Lunar Regolith

Ethos Space extracts and processes lunar regolith to build critical moon infrastructure. The startup converts moon dust into solid landing pads for rockets and extracts liquid oxygen from regolith for spacecraft propellant.

This eliminates transportation of materials from Earth, overcoming the substantial costs of Earth’s gravity well. Ethos creates sustainable lunar supply chains that make space development more economical and accessible.

Discover All Emerging Space Mining Companies and Startups

The SpaceTech startups showcased in this report are only a small sample of all startups we identified through our data-driven startup scouting approach. Download our free SpaceTech Innovation Report for a broad overview of the industry or get in touch for quick & exhaustive research on the latest technologies & emerging solutions that will impact your company in 2025!