NASA, the American space agency, has unveiled its intentions to initiate lunar resource mining within the next decade, The Guardian reported. The agency aims to commence soil excavation on the moon by 2032. This announcement comes as NASA gears up to send astronauts to the moon by 2025 as part of its ambitious Artemis mission, marking the first human landing on the moon since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. Notably, this upcoming mission will also include the participation of the first women and person of color to set foot on the lunar surface.
As part of their preparations, NASA plans to launch a test drill into space, with the goal of extracting lunar soil and establishing a processing facility on the moon's surface.
Gerald Sanders, a rocket scientist with NASA's Johnson Space Centre, addressed a conference in Brisbane where he said, "We are trying to invest in the exploration phase, understand the resources... to (lower) risk such that external investment makes sense that could lead to development and production."
"We are literally just scratching the surface," he added.
According to a report by Reuters, the initial customers anticipated for lunar resource extraction are likely to be commercial rocket companies interested in utilizing the moon's surface for fuel or oxygen production.
In a 2015 article published on its website, NASA outlined its rationale for lunar mining and the potential prospects of a "lunar gold rush."
Referring to geological surveys, the space agency emphasized the presence of three crucial elements on the moon: water, helium, and rare earth metals.
NASA highlighted the potential of water as a source for rocket fuel conversion, while helium holds promise for advancements in the energy sector, particularly in nuclear fusion research. Additionally, NASA emphasized the significance of rare earth metals, specifically scandium and yttrium, found in abundance on the lunar surface. The agency emphasized that these elements could contribute to advancements in the modern electronics industry.
NASA further stated that the moon possesses a mass of 73 quintillion tonnes. In the scenario where they extract 1 metric tonne of resources from the moon each day, it would take approximately 220 million years to deplete just 1 percent of the moon's total mass.
