General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums(Not The...) NASA is now accepting applications from companies that want to mine the moon
NASA is now working with private companies to take the first steps in exploring the moon for valuable resources like helium 3 and rare earth metals.
Initial proposals are due tomorrow for the Lunar Cargo Transportation and Landing by Soft Touchdown program (CATALYST). One or more private companies will win a contract to build prospecting robots, the first step toward mining the moon.
The contract will be a "no funds exchanged" Space Agreement Act, which means the government will not be directly funding the effort, but will receive NASA support. Final proposals are due on March 17th, 2014. NASA has not said when it will announce the winner.
NASA works with private companies that service the International Space Station, and those partnerships have gone well. Faced with a skeleton budget, the agency is looking for innovative ways to cooperate with the private sector in order to continue research and exploration, as it did recently with a crowdsourcing campaign to improve its asteroid-finding algorithms. That campaign was launched with another private company, Planetary Resources, the billionaire-backed asteroid mining company.
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http://www.theverge.com/2014/2/9/5395684/nasa-begins-hunt-for-private-companies-to-mine-the-moon-catalyst
CFLDem
(2,083 posts)Especially if they only mine the dark side of the moon.
DetlefK
(16,423 posts)The Moon rotates, it has a day-side and a night-side, just like Earth.
I saw it on a documentary: Futurama, Episode 2.
Jeff In Milwaukee
(13,992 posts)It's an over-fifty joke...
DetlefK
(16,423 posts)* The company can do on the moon whatever it damn well pleases.
* If something goes wrong, tax-payer-money will right it.
* All space-travel activities (launch, travel and landing) are exempt from various financial, environmental and security-regulations.
* The company must provide the NSA will all data necessary to infiltrate the space-travel-programs of other nations.
(Just a wild guess of mine.)
dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)And don't forget the wars for resources with Russia and China up there.
Assuming anyone is left alive in 50 years.
democratisphere
(17,235 posts)CFLDem
(2,083 posts)jsr
(7,712 posts)snooper2
(30,151 posts)It will become lighter and drift out of orbit with the Earth!
Stop we have to keep our moon!
cali
(114,904 posts)Laxman
(2,419 posts)that it was and Haliburton will be the first company up there!
Demo_Chris
(6,234 posts)MisterP
(23,730 posts)Rex
(65,616 posts)'NSA is now accepting applications from companies that want to mine the moon'