"Asteroid mining doesn’t involve people"

Language is a tricky thing. More accurately, there is a place for people and a place for machines. NASA OTOH, wants to send astronauts to the asteroids which is exactly the wrong approach. As the article points out, mining asteroids has a reason which is not NASA's reason for going. The reason is economic.

[Just had a power outage. Nothing lost.]

We are going to mars because people want to, which is the only justification required (which is also a reason NASA shouldn't be doing it. They, being government, take money indiscriminately from people. Private enterprise only takes from those willing and even eager to give.)

There is no technological or engineering challenge.

Again, understanding requires something more than language. This is a type of shorthand with which visionaries speak. I wish the interview had been longer.