And finally…to diversity, and beyond!

A 98-page report from the firm has claimed that mining asteroids for precious metals in the near future has now become a ‘realistic’ goal.

The celestial objects are thought to be loaded with tonnes of precious metals and minerals, including platinum, worth quadrillions on Earth.

“While the psychological barrier to mining asteroids is high, the actual financial and technological barriers are far lower,” the report reads, according to Business Insider.

“Prospecting probes can likely be built for tens of millions of dollars each and Caltech has suggested an asteroid-grabbing spacecraft could cost $2.6bn.”

More than 50 venture capital firms invested in space in 2015, driving more VC dollars into the sector in that year alone than in the prior 15 years combined, Goldman analyst Noah Poponak wrote in a a note to investors.

Those firms included SoftBank, Fidelity, Bessemer and the VC arm of Alphabet’s Google, among others.

“While relatively small markets today, rapidly falling costs are lowering the barrier to participate in the space economy, making new industries like space tourism, asteroid mining and on-orbit manufacturing viable,” Poponak said.

Since 2000, more than $13 billion has been poured into space-related start-ups and established companies, Goldman’s research showed.

Key players receiving funds are broken down into satellite manufacturers, like Boeing; launch providers, like Lockheed Martin; and operators, such as AT&T or Dish Network.