In the best of worlds, Chris Lewicki and Peter Diamandis might have changed the course of human civilization. Their startup, Planetary Resources, was launched in 2012 with the modest dream of mining asteroids for minerals, metals, water, and other valuables. The founders’ résumés and connections gave the zany idea institutional legitimacy: Lewicki had worked on major NASA missions such as the Mars Spirit and Opportunity rovers, and Diamandis was a well-known space--tourism booster. Together with a third partner, Eric Anderson, Planetary Resources had raised $50 million by 2016, of which $21 million came from big-name ... (full story)