Asteroid mining economics: start with the 121.6 grams
The best-funded asteroid sample return in history brought back about a quarter pound. Here's what that tells you about metal-asteroid pitches.
Field guides
Careers in space mining: the jobs are real, the job title isn't
Nobody is hiring 'space miners.' Plenty of companies are hiring the people who will build the machines. What we see on our own jobs board.
The Artemis Accords, read for miners
Seventy-seven countries have signed a non-binding document about the Moon. Two sections matter if you plan to dig.
Helium-3 reality check: the buyers are real, the reactors aren't
Lunar helium-3 has signed customers now. They want it for quantum fridges, not fusion. Here's what's contracted and what isn't.
How mining on the Moon and Mars would actually work
Find it, dig it, cook it, use it. The chemistry has been demonstrated. Prospecting is the bottleneck.
ISRU basics: why living off the land is the whole business
In-situ resource utilization, explained from the mass budget up. Start here if you read nothing else.
Lunar regolith: the most common resource on the Moon is the dirt
What Moon soil is made of, why it's mostly oxygen by weight, and what makes it miserable to handle.
Mars regolith chemistry: perchlorate, ice and the toxic-soil problem
Martian soil is chemically more interesting than the Moon's and also more hostile. Here's what the landers found.
Moon vs. Mars vs. asteroids: where to mine first
A side-by-side comparison of the three frontiers on distance, feedstock, demonstrated hardware and who's paying. Our pick, with reasons.
Lunar water ice, explained
Where the Moon's ice is, how we know it's there, and the one unknown that decides whether it's worth mining.
What MOXIE actually proved, and what it didn't
122 grams of oxygen on Mars, read carefully. The scale-up gap from a toaster-sized demo to a propellant plant.
Who owns what you mine in space? The law, in three documents
The 1967 Outer Space Treaty, the 2015 U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act and the Artemis Accords, read in order.
Starship payload math for people who want to mine the Moon
What 100-plus tonnes to orbit really buys on the lunar surface, why refilling is the whole game, and the per-kilogram number to watch.
Who's actually doing space resources in 2026
A working map of the companies and agencies with hardware, contracts or customers. If it's only a rendering, it isn't on the list.
AI jobs at space companies: fewer than you'd think, and almost all senior
We counted every open posting at 11 space companies. About 2.6 percent had AI or machine learning in the title. Where they are and how to get one.
How to break into aerospace without an aerospace degree
Most of the jobs on a rocket company's board aren't titled 'aerospace engineer.' Which degrees and backgrounds map onto them, and how to prove it.
The career changer's playbook for AI, robotics and space
Coming from another industry? Map what you already do onto a job these companies post, close one gap with one project, and skip the second degree unless a rule requires it.
Free courses and certifications that are actually worth your time
A short list, checked against what the jobs ask for: MIT OpenCourseWare, the official ROS 2 tutorials, NAR rocketry certification and the FAA mechanic route.
Space internships and fellowships for 2027: real programs, real deadlines
NASA OSTEM and Pathways, SpaceX and Blue Origin, the Brooke Owens and Patti Grace Smith fellowships, and the Isakowitz scholarship. What's open, what closed, and who qualifies.
ITAR explained for job seekers: what 'U.S. person' really means
Why so many aerospace postings ask about citizenship, who actually qualifies, and what non-citizens can still apply for.
Robotics career paths: from ROS tutorials to humanoids, drones and rovers
The four kinds of robotics jobs that are actually hiring, the free material that teaches the core stack, and how a planetary rover career usually starts on Earth.
Portfolio projects that get interviews: rockets, ROS robots and CubeSats
Three project types that hardware recruiters recognize, how to scope each so you actually finish, and what to write up afterward.
Who hires in AI, robotics, aerospace and space, and where
A map of the 32 companies on our jobs board by field and city. Southern California and the Bay Area dominate. Here's the rest.