Earth mini-moons: Potential for exciting scientific and commercial opportunities

The detection of ‘mini-moons’ — small asteroids temporarily captured in orbit around Earth — will vastly improve our scientific understanding of asteroids and the Earth-moon system. Small and fast-moving, they have evaded detection by existing technology, with only one confirmed mini-moon discovery to date. The advent of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope could verify their existence and track their paths around our planet, presenting exciting scientific and commercial opportunities.