- Identifying candidate targets. We need to find the right mixture of mass, composition, orbit, and location. This likely has both observational and unmanned probe components.
- Intercept system. We need a system capable of intercepting the asteroid and placing a propulsion system on or near the surface.
- Return propulsion. The requirement is low power and long running. This might be an ion engine like VASIMIR or even more exotic tech like a solar sail or a gravity tractor.
- Return approach. We need a safe way to put this in a location where the resources can actually be utilized without terrorizing the world.
- Rockets. A big chunk of this money would go into simply paying to get things into orbit, and once in orbit, on its way out into the solar system.
My general sense is that a lot of the bits and pieces of this technology are already in place, but there are still significant gaps and a tremendous amount of integration work.
$40 million towards making sure this effort survives. I don't necessarily expect it to be complete any time soon, maybe even until after I'm dead. This might take the form of an endowment of some kind, lobbying, or seeking further investment. I doubt this would be enough money, but I think it's in the ballpark, especially if SpaceX, or something like, it really takes off.
$10 million for personal expenses so I don't have to worry about anything else.