Moon mining a step closer

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Moon mining a step closer with new lunar soil simulant

Australian researchers have developed a substance that looks and behaves like soil from the moon’s surface and can be mixed with polymers to create ‘lunar concrete’, a finding that may help advance plans to construct safe landing pads and mines on the moon.

Valuable rare earth minerals, hydrogen, oxygen, platinum and the non-radioactive nuclear fusion fuel Helium-3 (He-3) are abundant on the moon. NASA and other space agencies have shown interest in lunar mining but the US is yet to ratify a 1984 treaty that would strictly regulate moon resource extraction.

Source

[marcos anthony toledo]

This is a long overdue development in Lunar colonization by mankind. Should have begun decades ago a shameful waste of time.

[highdesert50]

It's unfortunate that despite NASAs lofty achievements, the oversight and subsequent funding never realized that subsequent to setting afoot in a new land, there is a wealth of history that then defines the process of colonization. A more diverse think-tank, including perhaps a historian, would have been a valuable asset to the planning of future endeavors as it is certainly obvious that if we intend to colonize, we will need to adopt, adapt, and integrate; a process fundamental to colonization.

[Zaphod222]

As the article correctly states: "the cost of transporting materials made on Earth would be prohibitive", Exactly. And so would be the cost of transporting moon-mined materials to earth. It is the same trip in reverse. So the headline and entire article is completely pointless.

There will be no "lunar mining". Not now, not ever. So why waste pixels writing about it?

Edited February 26, 2013 by Zaphod222

[Waspie_Dwarf]

It is the same trip in reverse.

No it isn't.

The moon has one sixth the gravity of Earth. This means that you only need to expend one sixth of the energy to get off the moon that you do to get off the Earth, consequently it is far cheaper to send material from the moon to the Earth than it to do the trip the other way.

[shrooma]

if they start mining on the moon, I hope they find oil underneath the acre I bought!

yaaayy!!

eat your heart out middle east!

:-D

[ancient astronaut]

Helium 3??

[MysticStrummer]

As the article correctly states: "the cost of transporting materials made on Earth would be prohibitive", Exactly. And so would be the cost of transporting moon-mined materials to earth. It is the same trip in reverse. So the headline and entire article is completely pointless.

There will be no "lunar mining". Not now, not ever. So why waste pixels writing about it?

Have you seen the movie Moon? It's about an astronaut stationed on the moon to monitor mining equipment. In the extra features on the DVD they showed the movie to people at NASA. Apparently the movie is pretty scientifically accurate, so I wouldn't be so sure there will never be moon mining. Whether it's a good idea or not is another matter, but if there is something up there that a corporation can make money from, you can bet they'll find a way to do it.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1182345/