Mining The Moon

At a recent conference on developing the critical technologies for space settlement, sponsored by the Space Studies Institute, scientists and engineers agree that the technology to begin robotic mining of the Moon exists today, and they argue the Moon should be the first place extraterrestrial mining operations are mounted.

Their case rests on two points. The Moon is the nearest, most accessible extraterrestrial body, and it has substantial amounts of water. Water would be the basis of the first lunar export-- rocket fuel. Breaking water into its components of hydrogen and oxygen and recombining those elements into a rocket fuel, that fuel could be sent to low Earth orbit to top off the tanks of spaceships, probes, etc. Because of the Moon's low gravity, shipping the fuel from the Moon should be more economical than lifting it off Earth. Water is not the only valuiable lunar resource, either. Methane and ammonia could be profitably mined, for example, and lunar helium-3 could eventually fuel fusion reactors.

Other worlds-- Mars, asteroids, comets, other moons, for instance-- also have useful natural resources, of course. The key is to build an economic situation that will allow private industry to profitably apply those resources to improving the human condition. Part of building that situation must include clearly defining property rights beyond Earth. Under current law, the rights of individuals and private corporations to own, use, and profit from claims on other worlds are weak and vague. The major obstacle to finally opening space to human endeavor may not be technological or even financial, but legal and political. Addressing that aspect before going to the Moon with major investments would seem to be as critical as building a robot miner.