Mining for lunar minerals by 2032, says Gerald Sanders, a rocket scientist at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Improving access to lunar resources is an important step in reducing costs. and creating a sustainable circular economy
The investment in this mining project is to better understand the resources available on the moon. And it reduces the overall risk for potential and interested private investors or companies. This will increase investment opportunities from outside.
“We are trying to invest in the exploration phase. Understand Resources to reduce the risk and to have reasonable external investments. That could lead to development and production,” Sanders said, adding that for now. “We only scratched the (moon) surface.”
NASA will look for ways to improve the oxygen and water supply on the lunar surface. Survey data from many countries suggest there is a huge amount of water there, which lies deep and mixes with the moon’s sand. This then extends to the exploitation of other minerals such as iron.
Meanwhile, the Australian Space Agency (ASA) is also involved in the project by developing a semi-autonomous probe that will collect samples of ‘Regolith’ (regolith, the upper surface of the Earth’s crust or other planets) for NASA as early as 2026.
It collects oxygen-rich lunar soil in the form of oxides (oxides – compounds that contain oxygen with other elements) and sends them to NASA’s extractor. NASA plans to launch a test drill soon as well and build a processing plant by 2032.
“We will cooperate with commercial and international partners. to establish the first long-term habitability on the moon,” NASA said on the Artemis mission website. “We will then use what we learn on and around the Moon to jump to the next step, which is sending the first astronauts to Mars.”
Scientists expect commercial rocket companies to be the first customers to use the moon’s resources to produce fuel or oxygen.
“This is an important step towards sustainable living on the moon. and support future missions to Mars,” said Samuel Webster, NASA assistant director.
The second phase of Artemis will launch in 2024, and four astronauts, including the first woman and first black crew, will head to the Moon on an eight-day mission, the first time humanity has returned to our planet in more than 50 years.
Searched and edited by Vitit Borompichaichatkul
Photograph by NASA
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