The Lunar Gold Rush: How Moon Mining Could Work

THE LUNAR GOLD RUSH: HOW MOON MINING COULD WORK Across history, human development has relied upon the finite resources available on Earth. But the moon – a seemingly barren rock – may actually be a treasure trove of rare resources vital to Earth's future. And now, nations are looking upwards to a potential lunar gold rush. ..... WHY MINE THE MOON? Geological surveys show that the moon contains 3 crucial elements: Water Helium-3 Rare earth (He) metals (REMS) Vital for supporting life and agriculture beyond Earth; can be converted into rocket fuel Rare element sought for nuçlear fusion and fyture developments in energy sector The fifteen lanthanides, as well as scandium and yttrium - used in modern electronics and concentrated in China Smartphones, computers and medical equipment: all of these rely on valuable materials like copper, aluminum, iron and REMS. REMS ARE VITAL TO EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES. 90% of the world's REM supply Is produced in China Yet 15-20 YEARS: how long China claims its reserves may last for HOW COULD IT WORK? Ignoring the launch costs – which SpaceX is trying to solve with reusable rockets - a hypothetical lunar mining colony might look like this: 3D printers Hellum-3 storage facility Moon mining requires infrastructure before It can even begin. One solution is to manufacture materlal on the moon using 3D printers. Ferrying vast amounts of lunar soll to Earth for processing is impractical. Gas will be generated on the mdon and captured in storage containers. Robot miners A lunar base Self-sufficient robots that require Given the presence of water on the moon, this opens the potential for a long-term human presence. Printed bases remove the problem of logistics. minimal human oversight will be vital to cost-effective mining operations. WHAT EFFECT WOULD IT HAVE ON THE MOON? The moon has a mass of 73q tons Some back-of-the-envelope calculations show that if 1 metric ton was mined each day, it would take: 220m years to deplete 1% of the moon's mass This wouldn't be enough to cause a change of orbit or affect the gravitation that causes tides. The biggest concerns are environmental damage and the ethical consequences of moon-mining. Considerations include: Importance of Stakeholders in Visual impact Impact on future generations the moon's role lunar heritage from Earth in human culture Who are stakeholders in that heritåge? That pretty much means every single person on earth. Everyone has some attachment to the moon. - Dr. Alice Gorman Space archaeologist WHAT WILL HAPPEN? According to the 1967 United Nations Outer Space Treaty, no nation can clalm ownership of the moon. However, space law experts question whether the treaty could prevent private ownership – there's nothing stopping miners clalming property rights and using the moon as a commercial venture. The reality is, until we get there and fight it out, we'll just have to wait and see. Sources Brooks, M. (2014). Who owns the moon? We're just going to have to get up there and find out. newstatesman.com Crawford, I. (2014). Why we should mine the moon. ifiscience.com David, L. (2015). Is moon mining economically feasible? space.com David, L. (2010). Is mining rare minerals on the moon vital to national security? space.com European Space Agency (2015). Helium-3 mining on the lunar surface. esa.int Gorman, A (2013). Managing heritage values in lunar and asteroid mining: what are the issues. acser.unsw.edu.au International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (2005). Nomenclature of inorganic chemistry. web.archive.org Milligan, T. (2013). Scratching the surface: the ethics of Helium-3 extraction. International Academy of Astronautics. uhra.herts.ac.uk NASA (2014). Earth's moon overview. nasa.gov National Aeronautics and Space Administration (2014). Lunar cargo transportation and landing by soft touchdown (Lunar CATALYST): capability development: nasa.gov Nuwer, R. (2014). What is the world's scarcest material? bbc.com Santini, J.L. (2014). NASA bets on private companies to exploit moon's resources. phys.org Siceloff, S. (2013). Engineers building hard-working mining robot. nasa.gov Siegelbaum, D. (2014). The companies vying to turn asterõids into filling stations. bbc.co.uk Produced by 911 Metallurgist