Off-Earth Mining and Minerals Engineering

Dear Colleagues,

As humanity looks beyond Earth for resources and exploration, off-Earth mining and minerals engineering emerges as a critical frontier in science and industry. This Special Issue of Mining is dedicated to advancing the understanding, development, and implementation of technologies that will shape the future of extraterrestrial resource extraction—from the Moon and Mars to asteroids and beyond.

We welcome contributions that push the boundaries of current knowledge in areas such as in situ resource utilisation (ISRU), robotic excavation, regolith processing, space-based mineral characterisation, mission design, and sustainable mining systems for space environments. Submissions that bridge academic research with real-world industrial applications are especially encouraged to foster collaborations that can drive both scientific discovery and commercial innovation.

In addition to contributions from traditional space and aerospace sectors, this Special Issue actively seeks the involvement of researchers from broader engineering and scientific domains—including those not typically engaged with off-Earth or space-focused research. We believe that cross-disciplinary insights are essential to solving the complex technical challenges involved in space resource utilisation, and we welcome diverse perspectives that can expand the conversation and accelerate progress in this emerging field.

This Special Issue seeks to catalyse impactful work that will influence academic discourse and next-generation space technologies development by bringing together pioneering research, applied engineering, and visionary perspectives.

Prof. Dr. Juan M Menéndez-Aguado
Prof. Dr. Oscar Jaime Restrepo Baena
Prof. Dr. Juan C. Lucena
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Mining is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.