Colonization of the Moon

Last updated

NASA concept art of an envisioned lunar mining facility Lunar base concept drawing s99 04195.jpg
NASA concept art of an envisioned lunar mining facility

Compared to other objects in the Solar System, the Moon has many advantages that makes space colonization valuable and profitable. A spacecraft from low Earth orbit can easily land on the Moon's surface and withstand its vacuum-like conditions. The Moon also has natural resources available for in situ resource utilization such as abundant solar power, oxygen, water, metals and rare-earth minerals. The Moon also has a low gravity, no atmosphere and no ecosystem that can be destroyed, which is an ideal environment for profitable mining, manufacturing, and space launch industries to develop.

Contents

The Moon will not be a good place of habitation due to its low gravity, intense ionizing radiation and toxic regolith. Rather, it is better-positioned to be a place for industrialization. These negative effects on human health can be averted by shuttling astronauts from and to Earth and using space probes controlled from Earth to automate tasks. New technologies and value-added products made on the Moon will benefit Earth's population. Furthermore, conditions on the Moon will allow construction of launch vehicles much more capable than what is possible on Earth, which would enable further space development and colonization.

Colonization of the Moon will be controversial on ethical and legal grounds. A lunar territory claim would be in direct violation of the Outer Space Treaty and the principle that the Moon should be a common heritage of humanity. Left unchecked, the lunar colonists will likely suffer from the same problems as colonialism from centuries ago, such as social inequality, discrimination, violence and warfare. Given enough attention by the shareholders, these problems can be substantially mitigated.

The Apollo program and the Artemis program does not count as a lunar colonization program because it is only a space exploration program. This is also the same reason why Artemis Base Camp and the International Lunar Research Station does not count as a lunar colony, even though both programs aim to sustain a permanent human presence on the Moon. They however can function as a starting point to develop a true lunar colony to form, gradually becoming more independent and sustainable. Eventually, a Moonbase will become a true colony when reaches the break-even point and deliver profits to the shareholders.

History

Colonization of the Moon has been imagined as early as the first half of the 17th century by John Wilkins in A Discourse Concerning a New Planet. [1] [2]

In the early Space Age the USSR and the US engaged in dropping pennants and raising flags on the Moon, like this Lunar Flag Assembly of 1969, but agreed internationally in 1967 with the Outer Space Treaty to not lay any claims over the Moon or any other celestial bodies. Buzz salutes the U.S. Flag.jpg
In the early Space Age the USSR and the US engaged in dropping pennants and raising flags on the Moon, like this Lunar Flag Assembly of 1969, but agreed internationally in 1967 with the Outer Space Treaty to not lay any claims over the Moon or any other celestial bodies.

Colonization of the Moon as a material process has been taking place since the first artificial objects reached the Moon after 1959. Luna landers scattered pennants of the Soviet Union on the Moon, and U.S. flags were symbolically planted at their landing sites by the Apollo astronauts, but no nation claims ownership of any part of the Moon's surface. [4] Russia, China, India, and the U.S. are party to the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, [5] which defines the Moon and all outer space as the "province of all mankind", [4] restricting the use of the Moon to peaceful purposes and explicitly banning military installations and weapons of mass destruction from the Moon. [6]

The landing of U.S. astronauts was seen as a precedent for the superiority of the free-market socioeconomic model of the U.S., and in this case as the successful model for space flight, exploration and ultimately human presence in the form of colonization. In the 1970s the word and goal of colonization was discouraged by NASA and funds as well as focus shifted away from the Moon and particularly to Mars. But the U.S. eventually nevertheless opposed the 1979 Moon Agreement which aimed to restrict the exploitation of the Moon and its resources. Subsequently, the treaty has been signed and ratified by only 18 nations, as of January 2020, [7] none of which engage in self-launched human space exploration.

After U.S. missions in the 1990s suggested the presence of lunar water ice, its actual discovery in the soil at the lunar poles by Chandrayaan-1 (ISRO) in 2008–2009 renewed interest in the Moon. [8] A range of moonbases have been proposed by states and public actors. Currently the U.S.-led international Artemis program seeks to establish with private contractors a state run orbital lunar way-station in the late 2020s, and China proposed with Russia the so-called International Lunar Research Station to be established in the 2030s and aim for an Earth-Moon Space Economic Zone to develop by 2050. [9]

Current proposals mainly have the goal of exploration, but such proposals and projects have increasingly aimed for enabling exploitation or commercialization of the Moon. This move to exploitation has been criticized as colonialist and contrasted by proposals for conservation (e.g. by the organization For All Moonkind), [10] collaborative stewardship (e.g. by the organization Open Lunar Foundation, chaired by Chris Hadfield) [11] and the Declaration of the Rights of the Moon, [12] drawing on the concept of the Rights of Nature for a legal personality of non-human entities in space. [13]

Missions

The colonization of the Moon has been pursued and advocated for by a range of civil actors and space advocacy groups since the advent of spaceflight, mainly to establish a permanent human presence and settlement on the Moon.

States have explicitly refrained from calling for lunar colonization and particularly from laying any claims of territory on the Moon, in accordance with international bans on any such claims. [14]

States though have been pursuing the establishment of moonbases, the first being the temporary Tranquility Base of Apollo 11 in 1969, the first crewed mission on the Moon. Those and contemporary concepts and plans for moonbases have had the purpose to advance spaceflight and space exploration.

Contemporary plans for moonbases, such as the leading Artemis program and International Lunar Research Station projects, have supported in-situ resource utilization and therefore prospecting for lunar resources. [15] To complement the Artemis program private commercial space enterprise and services have been enabled and contracted. [16]

Law

This section is an excerpt from Moon § Legal status.[ edit ]

Although Luna landers scattered pennants of the Soviet Union on the Moon, and U.S. flags were symbolically planted at their landing sites by the Apollo astronauts, no nation claims ownership of any part of the Moon's surface. [17] Likewise no private ownership of parts of the Moon, or as a whole, is considered credible. [18] [19] [20]

The 1967 Outer Space Treaty defines the Moon and all outer space as the "province of all mankind". [17] It restricts the use of the Moon to peaceful purposes, explicitly banning military installations and weapons of mass destruction. [21] A majority of countries are parties of this treaty. [22] The 1979 Moon Agreement was created to elaborate, and restrict the exploitation of the Moon's resources by any single nation, leaving it to a yet unspecified international regulatory regime. [23] As of January 2020, it has been signed and ratified by 18 nations, [24] none of which have human spaceflight capabilities.

Since 2020, countries have joined the U.S. in their Artemis Accords, which are challenging the treaty. The U.S. has furthermore emphasized in a presidential executive order ("Encouraging International Support for the Recovery and Use of Space Resources.") that "the United States does not view outer space as a 'global commons'" and calls the Moon Agreement "a failed attempt at constraining free enterprise." [25] [26]

With Australia signing and ratifying both the Moon Treaty in 1986 as well as the Artemis Accords in 2020, there has been a discussion if they can be harmonized. [27] In this light an Implementation Agreement for the Moon Treaty has been advocated for, as a way to compensate for the shortcomings of the Moon Treaty and to harmonize it with other laws and agreements such as the Artemis Accords, allowing it to be more widely accepted. [28] [29]

In the face of such increasing commercial and national interest, particularly prospecting territories, U.S. lawmakers have introduced in late 2020 specific regulation for the conservation of historic landing sites [30] and interest groups have argued for making such sites World Heritage Sites [31] and zones of scientific value protected zones, all of which add to the legal availability and territorialization of the Moon. [32]

In 2021, the Declaration of the Rights of the Moon [33] was created by a group of "lawyers, space archaeologists and concerned citizens", drawing on precedents in the Rights of Nature movement and the concept of legal personality for non-human entities in space. [34] [35]

Economic prospecting and development

For long-term sustainability, a space colony should be close to self-sufficient. Mining and refining the Moon's materials on-site – for use both on the Moon and elsewhere in the Solar System – could provide an advantage over deliveries from Earth, as they can be launched into space at a much lower energy cost than from Earth. It is possible that large amounts of cargo would need to be launched into space for interplanetary exploration in the 21st century, and the lower cost of providing goods from the Moon might be attractive. [36]

Space-based materials processing

In the long term, the Moon will likely play an important role in supplying space-based construction facilities with raw materials. [37] Microgravity in space allows for the processing of materials in ways impossible or difficult on Earth, such as "foaming" metals, where a gas is injected into a molten metal, and then the metal is annealed slowly. On Earth, gas bubbles may rise or fall due to their relative density to air, but in a zero gravity environment this does not happen. The annealing process requires large amounts of energy, as a material is kept very hot for an extended period of time (allowing the molecular structure to realign), and this too may be more efficient in space, as the vacuum drastically reduces all heat transfer except through radiative heat loss.

Exporting material to Earth

Exporting material to Earth in trade from the Moon is problematic due to the cost of transportation, which would vary greatly if the Moon is industrially developed. One suggested trade commodity is helium-3 (3He) which is carried by the solar wind and accumulated on the Moon's surface over billions of years, but occurs only rarely on Earth. [38] Helium-3 might be present in the lunar regolith in quantities of 0.01 ppm to 0.05 ppm (depending on soil). In 2006 it had a market price of about $1,500 per gram ($1.5M per kilogram), more than 120 times the value per unit weight of gold and over eight times the value of rhodium.

In the future 3He harvested from the Moon may have a role as a fuel in thermonuclear fusion reactors. [38] [39] It should require about 100 metric tons (220,000 lb) of helium-3 to produce the electricity that Earth uses in a year and there should be enough on the Moon to provide that much for 10,000 years. [40]

In 2024, an American startup called Interlune announced plans to mine Helium on the Moon for export to Earth. The first mission plans to use NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program to arrive on the moon. [41]

Exporting propellant obtained from lunar water

To reduce the cost of transport, the Moon could store propellants produced from lunar water at one or several depots between the Earth and the Moon, to resupply rockets or satellites in Earth orbit. [42]

Lunar water ice

Video of the lunar south pole, showing areas of permanent shadow over several months (several lunar days)

Lunar scientists had discussed the possibility of water repositories for decades. They are now increasingly "confident that the decades-long debate is over" a report says. "The Moon, in fact, has water in all sorts of places; not just locked up in minerals, but scattered throughout the broken-up surface, and, potentially, in blocks or sheets of ice at depth." The results from the Chandrayaan mission are also "offering a wide array of watery signals." [43] [44]

It is estimated there is at least 600 million tons of ice at the north pole in sheets of relatively pure ice at least a couple of meters thick. [45]

Solar power satellites

Gerard K. O'Neill, noting the problem of high launch costs in the early 1970s, proposed building Solar Power Satellites in orbit with materials from the Moon. [46] Launch costs from the Moon would vary significantly if the Moon is industrially developed. This proposal was based on the contemporary estimates of future launch costs of the Space Shuttle.

On April 30, 1979, the Final Report "Lunar Resources Utilization for Space Construction" by General Dynamics Convair Division under NASA contract, NAS9-15560 concluded that the use of lunar resources would be cheaper than terrestrial materials for a system comprising as few as thirty Solar Power Satellites of 10 GW capacity each. [47]

In 1980, when NASA's launch cost estimates for the Space Shuttle were grossly optimistic, O'Neill et al. published another route to manufacturing using lunar materials with much lower startup costs. [48] This 1980s SPS concept relied less on human presence in space and more on partially self-replicating systems on the lunar surface under telepresence control of workers stationed on Earth.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moon</span> Natural satellite orbiting Earth

The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It orbits at an average distance of 384,400 km (238,900 mi), about 30 times the diameter of Earth. Tidal forces between Earth and the Moon have synchronized the Moon's orbital period with its rotation period at 29.5 Earth days, causing the same side of the Moon to always face Earth. The Moon's gravitational pull—and, to a lesser extent, the Sun's—are the main drivers of Earth's tides.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space exploration</span> Exploration of space, planets, and moons

Space exploration is the use of astronomy and space technology to explore outer space. While the exploration of space is currently carried out mainly by astronomers with telescopes, its physical exploration is conducted both by uncrewed robotic space probes and human spaceflight. Space exploration, like its classical form astronomy, is one of the main sources for space science.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space colonization</span> Concept of permanent human habitation outside of Earth

Space colonization is the colonization of outer space and astronomical bodies. As such it is a process of occupation or control for exploitation, such as extraterrestrial mining, and possibly extraterrestrial settlement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outer Space Treaty</span> Basis of international space law

The Outer Space Treaty, formally the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, is a multilateral treaty that forms the basis of international space law. Negotiated and drafted under the auspices of the United Nations, it was opened for signature in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union on 27 January 1967, entering into force on 10 October 1967. As of March 2024, 115 countries are parties to the treaty—including all major spacefaring nations—and another 22 are signatories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space law</span> Area of national and international law governing activities in outer space

Space law is the body of law governing space-related activities, encompassing both international and domestic agreements, rules, and principles. Parameters of space law include space exploration, liability for damage, weapons use, rescue efforts, environmental preservation, information sharing, new technologies, and ethics. Other fields of law, such as administrative law, intellectual property law, arms control law, insurance law, environmental law, criminal law, and commercial law, are also integrated within space law.

The Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, better known as the Moon Treaty or Moon Agreement, is a multilateral treaty that turns jurisdiction of all celestial bodies over to the participant countries. Thus, all activities would conform to international law, including the United Nations Charter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asteroid mining</span> Exploitation of raw materials from asteroids

Asteroid mining is the hypothetical extraction of materials from asteroids and other minor planets, including near-Earth objects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Extraterrestrial real estate</span> Ownership claims of property on other planets, moons, or parts of outer space

Extraterrestrial real estate refers to claims of land ownership on other planets, natural satellites, or parts of space by certain organizations or individuals. Previous claims are not recognized by any authority, and have no legal standing. Nevertheless, some private individuals and organizations have claimed ownership of celestial bodies, such as the Moon, and are actively involved in "selling" parts of them through certificates of ownership termed "Lunar deeds", "Martian deeds" or similar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of space exploration</span> Overview of and topical guide to space exploration

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to space exploration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NASA lunar outpost concepts</span> Concepts for extended human presence on the Moon

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has proposed several concept moonbases for achieving a permanent presence of humans on the Moon since the late 1950s. Research and exploration of the Moon have been a large focus of the organization since the Apollo program. NASA's peak budget was in 1964–1965, when it comprised 4% of all federal spending in service of the Apollo Moon landing project. Though lunar landings since the conclusion of the Apollo program in 1972 have ceased, interest in establishing a permanent habitation on the lunar surface or beyond low Earth orbit has remained steady. Recently, renewed interest in lunar landing has led to increased funding and project planning. NASA requested an increase in the 2020 budget of $1.6 billion, in order to make another crewed mission to the Moon under the Artemis program by 2025, followed by a sustained presence on the Moon by 2028. A crew was selected for the planned crewed mission, Artemis II, in April 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moonbase</span> Long-term human settlement on the Moon

A moonbase is a human outpost on or below the surface of the Moon. More than a mere site of activity or temporary camp, moonbases are extraterrestrial bases, supporting robotic or human activity, by providing surface infrastructure. Missions to the Moon have realized single-mission bases,, as well as some small permanent infrastructure like lunar laser ranging installations.

Space-based economy is economic activity in outer space, including asteroid mining, space manufacturing, space trade, space burial, space advertising and construction performed in space such as the building of space stations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of outer space</span> Political considerations of space policy

The politics of outer space includes space treaties, law in space, international cooperation and conflict in space exploration, international economics, and the hypothetical political impact of any contact with extraterrestrial intelligence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human presence in space</span> Physical presence of human activity in outer space

Human presence in space is the direct and mediated presence or telepresence of humans in outer space, and in an extended sense across space including astronomical bodies. Human presence in space, particularly through mediation, can take many physical forms from space debris, uncrewed spacecraft, artificial satellites, space observatories, crewed spacecraft, art in space, to human outposts in outer space such as space stations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space policy of the United States</span>

The space policy of the United States includes both the making of space policy through the legislative process, and the implementation of that policy in the United States' civilian and military space programs through regulatory agencies. The early history of United States space policy is linked to the US–Soviet Space Race of the 1960s, which gave way to the Space Shuttle program. At the moment, the US space policy is aimed at the exploration of the Moon and the subsequent colonization of Mars.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Moon:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">For All Moonkind</span> UN volunteer organisation

For All Moonkind, Inc. is a volunteer international nonprofit organization which is working with the United Nations and the international community to manage the preservation of history and human heritage in outer space. The organization believes that the lunar landing sites and items from space missions are of great value to the public and is pushing the United Nations to create rules that will protect lunar items and secure heritage sites on the Moon and other celestial bodies. Protection is necessary as many nations and companies are planning on returning to the Moon, and it is not difficult to imagine the damage an autonomous vehicle or an errant astronaut—an explorer, colonist or tourist—could to one of the Moon landing sites, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lunar resources</span> In situ resources on the Moon

The Moon bears substantial natural resources which could be exploited in the future. Potential lunar resources may encompass processable materials such as volatiles and minerals, along with geologic structures such as lava tubes that, together, might enable lunar habitation. The use of resources on the Moon may provide a means of reducing the cost and risk of lunar exploration and beyond.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artemis Accords</span> Multilateral agreement on human moon exploration

The Artemis Accords are a series of non-binding multilateral arrangements between the United States government and other world governments that elaborates on the norms expected to be followed in outer space. The Accords are related to the Artemis program, an American-led effort to return humans to the Moon by 2026, with the ultimate goal of expanding space exploration to Mars and beyond.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michelle Hanlon</span> American lawyer

Michelle Lea Desyin Slawecki Hanlon is an American space lawyer and space law professor. She is the co-founder, president and chief executive officer of For All Moonkind, and Executive Director of the Center for Air and Space Law at the University of Mississippi School of Law.

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Haskins, Caroline (August 14, 2018). "THE RACIST LANGUAGE OF SPACE EXPLORATION" . Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  2. ↑ Johnson, S. W.; Leonard, R. S. (1985). "Evolution of Concepts for Lunar Bases". Lunar Bases and Space Activities of the 21st Century. Houston, Texas: Lunar and Planetary Institute. p. 48. Bibcode:1985lbsa.conf...47J.
  3. ↑ Capelotti, P.J. (2014). The Human Archaeology of Space: Lunar, Planetary and Interstellar Relics of Exploration. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. p. 44. ISBN   978-0-7864-5994-0 . Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  4. 1 2 "Can any State claim a part of outer space as its own?". United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. Archived from the original on April 21, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
  5. ↑ "How many States have signed and ratified the five international treaties governing outer space?". United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. January 1, 2006. Archived from the original on April 21, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
  6. ↑ "Do the five international treaties regulate military activities in outer space?". United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. Archived from the original on April 21, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
  7. ↑ "Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies". United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. Archived from the original on August 9, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
  8. ↑ Alvarez, Tamara (January 1, 2020). The Eighth Continent: An Ethnography of Twenty-First Century Euro-American Plans to Settle the Moon (Thesis). p. 59. Archived from the original on February 5, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  9. ↑ Pillow, Liz (February 16, 2020). "From a farside first to cislunar dominance? China appears to want to establish 'space economic zone' worth trillions". SpaceNews. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Moonkind – Human Heritage in Outer Space". For All Moonkind. Archived from the original on November 1, 2021. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  11. ↑ "What we do on the Moon can transform how we live on Earth. It starts with community". Open Lunar Foundation. May 8, 2023. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  12. ↑ "Declaration of the Rights of the Moon". Australian Earth Laws Alliance. February 11, 2021. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
  13. ↑ Tepper, Eytan; Whitehead, Christopher (December 1, 2018). "Moon, Inc.: The New Zealand Model of Granting Legal Personality to Natural Resources Applied to Space". New Space. 6 (4): 288–298. Bibcode:2018NewSp...6..288T. doi:10.1089/space.2018.0025. ISSN   2168-0256. S2CID   158616075.
  14. ↑ Smith, Kiona N. (July 20, 2019). "How Apollo 11 Raised The Flag on the Moon, And What It Means Today". Forbes. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  15. ↑ "International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) Guide for Partnership". CNSA . June 16, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  16. ↑ FoustMonday, Jeff (November 25, 2024). "The Space Review: The search for a commercial lunar economy". The Space Review. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  17. 1 2 "Can any State claim a part of outer space as its own?". United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. Archived from the original on April 21, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
  18. ↑ "The treaties control space-related activities of States. What about non-governmental entities active in outer space, like companies and even individuals?". United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. Archived from the original on April 21, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
  19. ↑ "Statement by the Board of Directors of the IISL On Claims to Property Rights Regarding The Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (2004)" (PDF). International Institute of Space Law. 2004. Archived from the original on December 22, 2009. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
  20. ↑ "Further Statement by the Board of Directors of the IISL On Claims to Lunar Property Rights (2009)" (PDF). International Institute of Space Law. March 22, 2009. Archived from the original on December 22, 2009. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
  21. ↑ "Do the five international treaties regulate military activities in outer space?". United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. Archived from the original on April 21, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
  22. ↑ "How many States have signed and ratified the five international treaties governing outer space?". United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. January 1, 2006. Archived from the original on April 21, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
  23. ↑ "The Space Review: Is outer space a de jure common-pool resource?". The Space Review. October 25, 2021. Archived from the original on November 2, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  24. ↑ "Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies". United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. Archived from the original on August 9, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
  25. ↑ Vazhapully, Kiran (July 22, 2020). "Space Law at the Crossroads: Contextualizing the Artemis Accords and the Space Resources Executive Order". OpinioJuris. Archived from the original on May 10, 2021. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
  26. ↑ "Administration Statement on Executive Order on Encouraging International Support for the Recovery and Use of Space Resources" (Press release). White House. April 6, 2020. Archived from the original on February 1, 2024. Retrieved June 17, 2020– via SpaceRef.
  27. ↑ "Australia Between the Moon Agreement and the Artemis Accords". Australian Institute of International Affairs. June 2, 2021. Archived from the original on February 1, 2022. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  28. ↑ "The Space Review: The Artemis Accords: repeating the mistakes of the Age of Exploration". The Space Review. June 29, 2020. Archived from the original on January 25, 2022. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  29. ↑ "The Space Treaty Institute – Dedicated to Peace and Sustainability in Outer Space. Our Mission: To give people Hope and Inspiration by helping the nations of Earth to build a Common Future". The Space Treaty Institute – Dedicated to Peace and Sustainability in Outer Space. Our Mission. Archived from the original on February 1, 2022. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  30. ↑ "'One Small Step' Act Encourages Protection of Human Heritage in Space". HowStuffWorks. January 12, 2021. Archived from the original on November 1, 2021. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  31. ↑ "Moonkind – Human Heritage in Outer Space". For All Moonkind. Archived from the original on November 1, 2021. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  32. ↑ Alvarez, Tamara (January 1, 2020). The Eighth Continent: An Ethnography of Twenty-First Century Euro-American Plans to Settle the Moon (Thesis). p. 109-115, 164–167, 176. Archived from the original on February 5, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  33. ↑ "Declaration of the Rights of the Moon". Australian Earth Laws Alliance. February 11, 2021. Archived from the original on April 23, 2021. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
  34. ↑ Tepper, Eytan; Whitehead, Christopher (December 1, 2018). "Moon, Inc.: The New Zealand Model of Granting Legal Personality to Natural Resources Applied to Space". New Space. 6 (4): 288–298. Bibcode:2018NewSp...6..288T. doi:10.1089/space.2018.0025. ISSN   2168-0256. S2CID   158616075. Archived from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  35. ↑ Evans, Kate (July 20, 2021). "Hear Ye! Hear Ye! A Declaration of the Rights of the Moon". Eos. Archived from the original on February 6, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  36. ↑ Tung Dju (T. D.) Lin, cited via James, Barry (February 13, 1992). "On Moon, Concrete Digs?". International Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on November 24, 2006. Retrieved December 24, 2006.
  37. ↑ "Lunar base". RussianSpaceWeb.com. Retrieved December 24, 2006.
  38. 1 2 Mark Williams Pontin, Mining the Moon. MIT Technology Review. August 23, 2007.
  39. ↑ "FTI Research". Archived from the original on June 9, 2010. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  40. ↑ Kazmi, Shameem. "Moon Mining: Myth or reality?". earthtimes.org. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  41. ↑ Eaton, Kit (March 14, 2024). "Space Startup Interlune Emerges From Stealth Mode to Start Moon Mining Effort".
  42. ↑ Spudis, Paul D.; Lavoie, Anthony R. (September 29, 2011). "Using the resources of the Moon to create a permanent, cislunar space faring system" (PDF). AIAA Space 2011 Conference & Exposition. 1646: 80. Bibcode:2011LPICo1646...80S.
  43. ↑ "It's not lunacy, probes find water in Moon dirt". USA Today. September 23, 2009. Retrieved September 26, 2009.
  44. ↑ "Water discovered on Moon?: "A lot of it actually"". The Hindu . September 23, 2009. Archived from the original on September 26, 2009. Retrieved September 26, 2009.
  45. ↑ Bill Keeter: NASA Radar Finds Ice Deposits at Moon's North Pole – Additional evidence of water activity on moon Archived September 21, 2015, at the Wayback Machine . National Aeronautics and Space Administration, March 2, 2010, retrieved June 27, 2011
  46. ↑ O'Neill, Gerard K. (1977). The High Frontier, Human Colonies in Space. Apogee Books. p. 57. ISBN   978-0-688-03133-6.
  47. ↑ General Dynamics Convair Division (1979). Lunar Resources Utilization for Space Construction (PDF). GDC-ASP79-001.
  48. ↑ O'Neill, Gerard K.; Driggers, G.; O'Leary, B. (October 1980). "New Routes to Manufacturing in Space". Astronautics and Aeronautics. 18: 46–51. Bibcode:1980AsAer..18...46G.

General references

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.