Asteroid Trade

The Asteroid Trade was the large-scale shipment and refining of asteroids and their raw materials. The Trade was important in the economies of Luna, Mars, and Ceres & Pallas.

Early Days
For many years, the Asteroid Belt was known to hold vast mineral wealth. The problem was getting there and transporting back products in a way that was economically feasible. Due to the mineral wealth of Earth, its large gravity well, and the growing Lunar colonies, it became feasible to float asteroids into Lunar orbit and process them with Lunar factories. Thompson Integrated Systems, under the lead of Margaret Peterson, began the first movement of an asteroid into Lunar orbit in 2052. When accomplished, that first asteroid, and many others after it, formed the backbone of a large Lunar manufacturing and processing industry.

Maturation
Once Luna had a mature manufacturing industry, thereby taking most spacecraft production off of Earth, and in the process drastically cheapening spaceflight, it became possible to truly access the vast wealth of the Asteroid Belt.