Another one of the activities in the space MMO, Ascent, is to mine asteroids. You can get all sorts of minerals through mining, as each type of asteroid has a different makeup. Currently, only two systems in Ascent have asteroids: Vulcan and Veritas. For my first foray into mining I went to Vulcan and found quite a large asteroid field.
Not all of the asteroids are able to be mined though, just the ones with a name. Thankfully, collision is not enabled on the non-mineable asteroids either. That would make it quite a dangerous activity. The first step in mining is getting up close and personal with your asteroid. You need to be within 1km in order for your mining laser to activate. I've noticed the hit box for the asteroids can be a little strange sometimes, so you may have to start the laser off of the asteroid.
There is an art to mining an asteroid. In addition to keeping up with moving asteroids, you have to pay attention while mining. You need to watch for the color of it to change while you are using your beam on it. Once it does, you stop the beam and the asteroid implodes. If you have the beam on it for too long, you will just destroy it and not get any minerals.
There are a couple of ways to improve the yield you get while mining. First, you can improve your skill value just by mining. Secondly, you can buy a better mining laser. These are made by players and can be bought off of the Galactic Market.
Ok, you have a cargo hold full of minerals, now what? The easiest way to cash them in is to sell them to the NPC local market. This is not an option for all of the minerals, like Niobium. So for those you can either sell them to NPC contracts, or sell them to your fellow players. The most profitable route is usually sell them to other players via the Global Market. You can make some nice money on Tin and Niobium that way.
Mining can be a lucrative way to earn credits in Ascent. I'm not sure it is something I will do often, as it isn't the most exciting of activities. Trading is a bit easier to do in my opinion. Sure, it isn't exciting either but requires less aiming and maneuvering. :)
