Starting this evening the Science Channel is running a 3 part special about an aspect of the new race for space, with topics that include mining the Moon, colonizing Mars, and protecting Earth from low flying rocks like the one that wiped out the Dinosaurs. This isn’t science fiction or wishful thinking; these are engineers and scientists working for companies who have a business plan that they expect is going to make them a lot of money by utilizing resources previously inaccessible.
I contributed to a Kickstarter project called ARKYD who’s goal started with building a flock of orbital cameras to spot incoming meteors and asteroids. They have launched a bunch of them already with more in the pipe, and they are starting to map orbits using the Asteroid Zoo app and site. Step two is to do launches, both manned and robotic, to capture and change the orbits of the ones that come close enough so we can mine them for resources such as metals and volatiles (fuel and food). The ones coming too close and posing a danger to Earth? You just use that same capture and change orbits process to make sure they do us no harm, mining them for whatever they have to offer in the process. I suspect the third special might be about them.