![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
ddstory.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
talkpoliticsResearchers: Moon’s resources are of ‘potential economic interest’
"According to a new peer-reviewed paper, the Moon harbors sufficient resources to make it economically viable. The new paper, authored by Ian Crawford of the Department of Earth Planetary Sciences at Birkbeck College, University of London, has been accepted for publication in the journal Progress in Physical Geography and is available here."
The next Gold Rush in the making, perhaps? Of course, as we've seen time and time again, where there are valuable minerals to be excavated, and some economic viability in extracting them, adventurous humans will be sure to arrive in droves. Even if that means meeting the challenge of extreme conditions and risking lives. Of course, there's the possibility of heavily relying on mechanized work instead - technology is making huge strolls in that direction already.
Business "experts" might like to often poke fun at the impossibly expensive cost of mining asteroids or the Moon, but in reality, in the mid- to long-term, these endeavors are not beyond the realm of possibility. Of course, getting back to our cosmic neighbor for economic purposes would require the development of new technologies, even new ways of thinking, and expanding existing conventional business models, ones which are not solely driven by short-term profit alone. After all, demand for rare-earth minerals has been rising sharply in recent times, while their supply remains limited. All in all, there's huge potential to be recognized here. And some already are doing that.
So far, the cost of extracting these minerals (including He-3 which is very abundant on the Moon, and could be used as a non-radioactive nuclear fusion fuel, considered by some to be the safe energy source of the future), is much higher than the economic benefits of their extraction. In other words, Moon mining still looks too economically unviable at this point. But easy access to more abundant reserves could change this. While any one of these minerals alone might not provide a lucrative return on investment, their unique distribution on or near the lunar surface provides the opportunity to split the cost. In other words, if the extraction work is planned properly, the same equipment could be used on a relatively limited area to extract a whole palette of minerals, and then transport them all back with an Earth-Moon shuttle, a commercial vehicle that could ferry materials back to Earth. I'm sure some within the private sector are already seriously contemplating this possibility.
All in all, there's a new frontier for a new race for resources about to open some time within the next few decades, with all the political implications and complications that come with it. And we probably need to preemptively formulate a comprehensive legislation on that, as opposed to doing it as we go when it's already a done fact.
On a side note, I'm always amused by semi-informed folks who make claims about an imminent danger of messing up with Earth's ecosystem in case we tinker with our natural satellite. Some have argued that because the Moon is relatively small, any serious activity on it could affect its gravitational effect on Earth, "and the tides will go crazy". In fact, the mechanism of destroying the balance of a planet-sized celestial body by mining on or near its surface with small human-size machines, when hundreds and thousands of house-size asteroids regularly slam into it, remains a complete mystery to me. But then again, history has always witnessed the regular chorus of concern trolls who'd be willing to drag progress back for one reason or another.
At the end of the day, humankind could never make that first giant leap toward becoming a Type I civilization, one that actively controls its cosmic surroundings (particularly its own Solar system) without ever attempting to do the first step, could it?
"According to a new peer-reviewed paper, the Moon harbors sufficient resources to make it economically viable. The new paper, authored by Ian Crawford of the Department of Earth Planetary Sciences at Birkbeck College, University of London, has been accepted for publication in the journal Progress in Physical Geography and is available here."
The next Gold Rush in the making, perhaps? Of course, as we've seen time and time again, where there are valuable minerals to be excavated, and some economic viability in extracting them, adventurous humans will be sure to arrive in droves. Even if that means meeting the challenge of extreme conditions and risking lives. Of course, there's the possibility of heavily relying on mechanized work instead - technology is making huge strolls in that direction already.
Business "experts" might like to often poke fun at the impossibly expensive cost of mining asteroids or the Moon, but in reality, in the mid- to long-term, these endeavors are not beyond the realm of possibility. Of course, getting back to our cosmic neighbor for economic purposes would require the development of new technologies, even new ways of thinking, and expanding existing conventional business models, ones which are not solely driven by short-term profit alone. After all, demand for rare-earth minerals has been rising sharply in recent times, while their supply remains limited. All in all, there's huge potential to be recognized here. And some already are doing that.
So far, the cost of extracting these minerals (including He-3 which is very abundant on the Moon, and could be used as a non-radioactive nuclear fusion fuel, considered by some to be the safe energy source of the future), is much higher than the economic benefits of their extraction. In other words, Moon mining still looks too economically unviable at this point. But easy access to more abundant reserves could change this. While any one of these minerals alone might not provide a lucrative return on investment, their unique distribution on or near the lunar surface provides the opportunity to split the cost. In other words, if the extraction work is planned properly, the same equipment could be used on a relatively limited area to extract a whole palette of minerals, and then transport them all back with an Earth-Moon shuttle, a commercial vehicle that could ferry materials back to Earth. I'm sure some within the private sector are already seriously contemplating this possibility.
All in all, there's a new frontier for a new race for resources about to open some time within the next few decades, with all the political implications and complications that come with it. And we probably need to preemptively formulate a comprehensive legislation on that, as opposed to doing it as we go when it's already a done fact.
On a side note, I'm always amused by semi-informed folks who make claims about an imminent danger of messing up with Earth's ecosystem in case we tinker with our natural satellite. Some have argued that because the Moon is relatively small, any serious activity on it could affect its gravitational effect on Earth, "and the tides will go crazy". In fact, the mechanism of destroying the balance of a planet-sized celestial body by mining on or near its surface with small human-size machines, when hundreds and thousands of house-size asteroids regularly slam into it, remains a complete mystery to me. But then again, history has always witnessed the regular chorus of concern trolls who'd be willing to drag progress back for one reason or another.
At the end of the day, humankind could never make that first giant leap toward becoming a Type I civilization, one that actively controls its cosmic surroundings (particularly its own Solar system) without ever attempting to do the first step, could it?
(no subject)
Date: 15/1/15 13:26 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 15/1/15 13:33 (UTC)Good write-up.
(no subject)
Date: 15/1/15 14:30 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 17/1/15 03:05 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 17/1/15 07:46 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 17/1/15 08:00 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 17/1/15 10:38 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 15/1/15 16:40 (UTC)All I know is: we have to get off of this rock. Our eggs are all in one basket, and eventually some extinction-level event will occur (asteroid/comet impact, supervolcano eruption, the inevitable increase in solar luminosity, the eventual death of Sol.) We better get ourselves more spread out if we hope to survive as a species.
(no subject)
Date: 15/1/15 16:41 (UTC)YAY Orion!
Date: 15/1/15 19:18 (UTC)At 17,000 mph the unmanned Orion traveled further than any space craft for humans in 42 years, it reached an orbit 15 times higher than the manned International Space Station, with a spectacular ocean splash-down with five parachutes in the Pacific Ocean, a few hundred miles off the coast of beautiful San Diego. NASA said it was a nearly flawless flight. Video of the wonderful take off (Shuttle launches were cool, but nothing beat the Apollo takeoffs, in my opinion)
RE: YAY Orion!
Date: 15/1/15 19:49 (UTC)I'm more impressed by SpaceX's Falcon-R program and their recent barge test (http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/01/10/despite-botched-landing-a-lot-went-right-with-spacexs-booster-flyback/). Sure they failed to stick the landing but primary mission was still a success and at least they're taking risks on something genuinely innovative.
(no subject)
Date: 16/1/15 19:03 (UTC)