That's No Moon. That's A Space Mine!
Think the economy needs that next big thing that everybody can rally behind? Me too, and I just read an article that got me thinking somebody was very much on to something.
A man by the name of Naveen Jain thinks that there could be a very viable mining business just waiting to be capitalized on, and the location of that business is the moon. Yes, as in the moon that we stare at every night.
Discovery.com reported on a story that seriously takes a look at the idea, the viability of it and what exactly an entrepreneur would want to do with the moon.
Jain’s company plans to piggyback on private shuttle flights, using them to carry his lunar landers and mining platforms to the moon.
“People ask, why do we want to go back to the moon? Isn’t it just barren soil?” Jain told FoxNews.com. “But the moon has never been explored from an entrepreneurial perspective.”
Our nearest neighbor in the sky holds a ransom in precious minerals, Jain explained: Twenty times more titanium and platinum than anywhere on earth, not to mention helium 3, a rare isotope of helium that many feel could be the future of energy on Earth and in space.
His company, which calls itself MoonEx, was awarded a contract as part of NASA’s $10 million Innovative Lunar Demonstration Data (ILDD) program, and is shooting for the $30 million Google Lunar X Prize as well. Jain believes the NASA contract will allow his company to start mining operations on the moon, something he says MoonEx can do as soon as 2013.
The idea sounds very much like something out of a science fiction movie, and that’s because that is EXACTLY what it is. Even the most recent science fiction movie, “Avatar” discusses the idea, politics and greed behind mining the stars.
Mining the moon for minerals is an exciting thought if you ask me. But is really exciting is that it actually feels possible these days, and profitable.
I can hear the anti ocean windmill people out there already. MY VIEW OF THE MOON WILL CHANGE! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO ENJOY STARING AT THE MOON WHEN I KNOW SPACECRAFT WILL BE FLYING AROUND UP THERE? IT WILL AFFECT THE VIEW FROM MY HOME AND AFFECT ITS VALUE.