With an estimated 1.6 billion tonnes of water ice at its poles and an abundance of rare-earth elements hidden below its surface, the Moon is rich ground for mining
In this month’s issue of Physics World, science writer Richard Corfield explains how private firms and space agencies are dreaming of tapping into these lucrative resources and turning the Moon’s grey, barren landscape into a money-making conveyer belt. A video preview of the February issue of Physics World can be viewed here.
Since NASA disbanded its manned Apollo missions to the Moon over 40 years ago, unmanned spaceflight has made giant strides and has identified a bountiful supply of water ice at the north and south poles of the Moon.
“It is this, more than anything else,” Cornfield writes, “that has kindled interest in mining the Moon, for where there is ice, there is fuel.”
Texas-based Shackleton Energy Company (SEC) plans to mine the vast reserves of water ice and convert it into rocket propellant in the form of hydrogen and oxygen, which would then be sold to space partners in low Earth orbit.
As the company’s chief executive officer, Dale Tietz, explains, the plan is to build a “gas station in space” in which rocket propellant will be sold at prices significantly lower than the cost of sending fuel from Earth.
SEC plans to extract the water ice by sending humans and robots to mine the lunar poles, and then use some of the converted products to power mining hoppers, lunar rovers and life support for its own activities.
Read more: Mining the Moon becomes a serious prospect
The Latest on: Mining the Moon
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Mining the Moon” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Mining the Moon
- In the Race for Space Metals, Companies Hope to Cash Inon May 8, 2024 at 12:08 am
While the mission, courtesy of a company called AstroForge, ran into problems, it’s part of a new wave of would-be asteroid miners hoping to cash in on cosmic resources. Potential applications of ...
- The First Railway On The Moon Might Happen Next Decadeon May 6, 2024 at 5:57 am
“These diverse, science fiction-like concepts represent a fantastic class of Phase II studies,” said John Nelson, NIAC program executive at NASA Headquarters in Washington, in a statement. “Our NIAC ...
- Blue Originon May 3, 2024 at 1:30 am
Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin raised a test version of its massive orbital rocket on its launch pad for the first time Wednesday, inaugurating the start of a major test campaign ahead of the first ...
- With moon mining and tourism on the horizon, are we in a new geological epoch? Researchers say yeson May 2, 2024 at 5:00 pm
The point of the comment, Holcomb said, was just to get people thinking about how humans have and will affect our moon, and the wider solar system, especially as private companies eye space tourism, ...
- UCF planetary scientist’s innovations help pave the way for economic activity beyond earthon May 1, 2024 at 5:00 pm
ORLANDO, May 2, 2024 – Imagine UCF researchers living and working on the moon and companies mining and using lunar resources to launch rockets further into space. That’s what UCF planetary scientist ...
- Moonshot? Lunar Mining Startup Aims to Extract Helium Isotopeon May 1, 2024 at 1:39 pm
Plus, the State Department offers a reward for intel on a Russia-backed ransomware group, reliance on AI tools grows sixfold, and the disconnect between what EV buyers want and what carmakers are ...
- From coal gasification to robot space mining, small towns fall prey to PR promiseson May 1, 2024 at 4:00 am
Early this year, a friendly man wearing glasses and a corporate polo shirt approached the City Council here with a big idea. This was already a contentious meeting. A woman had just accosted officials ...
- Crypto News: BlockDAG’s X30 Miner Excels in Crypto Mining While Ethereum & XRP Prices Fallon April 23, 2024 at 7:00 pm
Learn how BlockDAG’s X30 Miner remains a solid investment despite Ethereum’s price volatility and XRP’s declining trends.
- BlockDAG Mining Rigs Rise on the Moon, Dominates with $2.2M Sales, Outshining Cardano Whales, and Polkadot’s Turmoilon April 18, 2024 at 11:38 pm
With advanced mining solutions and a recent moon keynote teaser, BlockDAG offers investors a compelling opportunity, boasting a 20,000x potential as the right investment choice in the evolving ...
- National Beat: Tech downturn hits the office market, mining the moon, and more startups to watchon March 22, 2024 at 6:10 pm
Seattle-based space-resources company Interlune hopes to see you on the dark side of the moon. Last week, Interlune launched out of stealth with a total of $18 million in funding. The startup's ...
via Bing News