Lmst

#MoonMining

The #excavator will be in continuous operation and process 100 tons ⛰️ in one hour ⏱️ https://www.heise.de/en/news/Interlune-presents-excavator-for-helium-3-mining-on-the-moon-10398297.html

#MoonMining

The two instruments on the Lunar #Trailblazer spacecraft will work in tandem to generate high-resolution maps of the moon's 🌙 #water💧. It should take between four and seven months to arrive in its final orbit https://phys.org/news/2025-02-lunar-trailblazer-blasts-moon.html

#ISRU #MoonMining

Early next month, #IM2 is targeting a touchdown at 84.6° south latitude, just 160 km from the #Moon’s 🌙 south pole. It will deploy an #ice-mining drill 🕳️ and mass spectrometer, a miniaturized rover, and a unique “hopper” craft. Its first hop will reach a height of 20 m with two additional hops aiming to reach 50 m then 100 m. On its fourth and fifth hops, it will leap in and out of a permanently shadowed region inside a 20 m-deep #crater. https://www.astronomy.com/space-exploration/intuitive-machines-preps-im-2-mission-for-moon-launch-this-week

#ISRU #MoonMining

🇨🇳 #ChangE8 📆 2028 : “Through data sharing and task delegation, the #robots 🤖 will work together like a team, achieving objectives that would be impossible for independent robots to complete” https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3296324/change-8-moon-mission-first-get-robotic-boost-chinas-private-sector

#SpaceRobot #MoonMining #ISRU

#ArtemisAccords #Artemismissions #Moon #Moonmining #Moonmissions #NASA #Satellites #Space #Spaceexploration #Spacemining #Spacerace #Tiangong #US-China
Space isn’t all about the ‘race’ – rival superpowers must work together for a better future

If 1 metric ton of the Moon was mined each day, there would be no Moon left in about 2,200,000,000 years.

#science #sciencefacts #moon #moonmining #mining

#NASA has contracts with four companies to gather a small amount of material from the lunar 🌙 surface—as a proof of concept to show that extraction is possible.
NASA doesn’t have a similar demonstration for mining ⚒️ #asteroids. But the space rock seekers nevertheless continue their quest for treasure. They believe Earth needs, and will pay handily for, what space 🌌 has to offer. https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/05/in-the-race-for-space-metals-companies-hope-to-cash-in/

#AsteroidMining #MoonMining #SpaceMining

#SpaceAgencies and private companies are planning bases, scientific experiments and mining ⚒️ operations on the #moon 🌙. Whatever the #ArtemisAccords decide, Russia 🇷🇺 and China 🇨🇳 are not about to sign up.
A second effort at lunar governance is emerging at #Copuos*. Its new working group is mulling rules on the extraction of natural resources from celestial bodies https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/mar/25/bases-experiments-mining-the-race-to-protect-the-surface-of-the-moon

* https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/copuos/index.html

#ISRU #MoonMining #SpaceRegulation #UNOOSA

Constellations of #satellites 🛰️ that provide #communications and #GPS on the #moon 🌙 could also wreck #astronomers’ plans by interfering with telescopes 📡, while heavy rovers and mining ⚒️ #robots could generate dust and vibrations https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/mar/25/scientists-call-for-protection-of-moon-sites-astronomy-telescopes

#SpaceScience #MoonMining

🇨🇳 A 100kg #robot 🤖 will prepare a working area on the lunar 🌙 surface and transfer the parts from the lander and assemble them. All of #China’s planned #ChangE missions will be testing technologies to pave the way for Chinese #astronauts 👨‍🚀 to land on the #moon before 📆 2030 https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3251854/china-calls-developers-change-8-mission-make-and-assemble-moon-bricks

#MoonHabitat #MoonMining #ISRU #SpaceExploration

In 📆 2022, the #SpaceIndustry was estimated to be worth US$350 billion 💵 and is projected to grow 📈 to more than one trillion 💰 dollars over the next two decades. Actors such as #SpaceX already own a majority of the #LEO #satellites 🛰️ . In the absence of a concerted global 🌏 dialogue, individual countries are pushing ahead with their own laws. Usually, international arrangements tend to arise 🥱 when there is a real risk of #conflict. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00722-4

#SpacePolitics #MoonMining

A single liter costs a few thousand dollars. Because there is no magnetosphere around the #Moon 🌙, it's believed there are large quantities of #helium3 gas trapped in pockets of the #lunar regolith. #Interlune is working toward the launch of a demonstrator mission in 📆 2026 that will sample the lunar regolith, measure the helium-3 quantity, and then attempt to extract some of it. https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/03/mining-helium-3-on-the-moon-has-been-talked-about-forever-now-a-company-will-try/

#MoonMining

📆 2023 This #SBSP study by #Astrostrom for #ESA proposes a 29,339 m2 #solar ☀️ collector at the #Lagrange point, #SolarPanels from #Lunar 🌙 materials, transported by a #SpaceElevator 🚠 from the #Moon https://nebula.esa.int/sites/default/files/neb_study/2753/C4000136309ESR.pdf

#ISRU #MoonMining #SpaceBasedSolarPower #SpaceRobot

#Guardian 📆 8 Dec 2023 The #Peregrine mission is the first in a fleet of private #spacecraft bound for the #moon 🌙 in the next few years. Future landers aim to drill for ice 🧊 and other materials, potentially iron and rare earths, which are of interest 🤑 to mining ⚒️ firms. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/dec/08/nasa-hands-over-control-as-new-era-of-moon-missions-readies-for-lift-off

#MoonMining #ISRU #SpaceCompany

#Astronomers envision huge crater-filling radio dishes 📡 and arrays of antennas hundreds of kilometers 📏 across.
#SpaceAgencies and companies ⚒️ are planning fleets of #Moon-orbiting #satellites 🛰️ to help rovers navigate on the surface and to relay their data 📶 to #Earth. But even if satellites avoid key frequencies or switch off as they fly above #telescopes 🔭, unintended #emissions from onboard #electronics could be detectable https://www.science.org/content/article/moon-s-scientifically-important-sites-could-be-lost-forever-mining-rush

#MoonMining #SpaceScience

#Reuters 📆 August 11, 2023 #Helium3 is an isotope of helium that is rare on earth, but #NASA says there are estimates of a million tonnes of it on the #moon 🌙. This isotope could provide nuclear energy 🔋 in a fusion reactor but since it is not radioactive it would not produce dangerous waste.
#RareEarthMetals - used in #smartphones 📱, #computers 💻 and advanced technologies - are present on the moon 🌙, including scandium, yttrium and the 15 lanthanides https://www.reuters.com/technology/space/moon-mining-why-major-powers-are-eyeing-lunar-gold-rush-2023-08-11