Choice A is the best answer. The author of Passage 1 explicitly states that one benefit to space mining is access to precious metals and earth elements: "within a few decades, [space mining] may be meeting earthly demands for precious metals, such as platinum and gold, and the rare earth elements vital for personal electronics, such as yttrium and lanthanum" (lines 18-22,"Within a few decades, .... and lanthanum.").
Choice B is incorrect because Passage 1 does not suggest that precious metals extracted from space may make metals more valuable on Earth. Choice C and Choice D are incorrect because Passage 1 never mentions how space mining could create unanticipated technological innovations or change scientists' understanding of space resources.