The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, a tiny country in the heart Europe less than 1,000 square miles in size, finally put its money where its mouth is by investing $225 million to back research and development projects that will eventually see it dominate the multi-trillion dollar asteroid mining business.

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Experts calculate a single asteroid can possess some $95.8 trillion in mineral wealth -- an amount larger than the GDP of all the countries in the world. This massive wealth is expected to exist in a 100 mile wide asteroid named 241 Germania that's currently too far away to reach because it's in the asteroid belt but should be in the coming century.

One study estimated the mineral wealth in the top five most potentially profitable asteroids will yield a profit of some $10.4 trillion.

But getting at this massive wealth is costly with existing technology. A forthcoming NASA mission to return just 60 grams from an asteroid to Earth will cost some $1 billion. Hence, the reason for Luxembourg investing in technologies that will slash this cost to the point where asteroid mining becomes profitable.

Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel and Deputy Prime Minister Etienne Schneider jointly announced the investment and their country's partnership with two U.S. companies -- Deep Space Industries from California and Planetary Resources out of Washington -- that will mine asteroids for them.

Schneider clarified the $225 million is only an initial investment in space mining. He said his country won't limit itself to supporting only research and development. Luxembourg also intends to mine the Moon.

Schneider and Bettel said the government will pass a Luxembourg Space Act by the end of this year that will give legal protection to space mining companies recovering and exploiting for profit raw materials taken from asteroids, the Moon or any other celestial body.

The law will also be open to all investors unlike the similar 2015 U.S. Space Act that limits investors in the space mining business to American companies.

"There will be one big difference between the American Space Act and the Luxembourg Space Act. The American Space Act only allows this business to American companies, with at least a majority of American capital," he noted

"The Luxembourg Space Act will be open to all investors which will be located over here, in Luxembourg. That's a huge difference for investors -- also to American companies or startups, which one day will have to get new capital -- money to get really launched. If they don't find American capital they will have a problem and they will maybe look for another nation where they can have international capital and grow.

"I don't know why the Americans limited themselves to American capital, but we will not. We will be what we have been, an international place for international investment. Luxembourg has the ability to become the Silicon Valley for space resources. That is our aim for the years to come."

TagsLuxembourg, asteroid mining, 241 Germania, Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, Deputy Prime Minister Etienne Schneider, Deep Space Industries, Planetary Resources