News Mine the Moon

ShowtimeSBMVP · 10-18-2011, 04:38 PM

The moon is made of far more valuable stuff than green cheese. And one man wants to capitalize on that fact.

NASA, which ended America's space shuttle program in June, says it wants to privatize spaceflight. Naveen Jain, co-founder and chairman of Moon Express, Inc., wants to go a step further: He wants to privatize the moon itself.

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."

Green cheese indeed -- there's cash in them lunar hills!

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.

Beyond mineral resources, Jain imagines a variety of ways to capitalize on the public's lunar love.

"No one has ever captured people's fascination with the moon," he told FoxNews.com. "What if, say, we take a picture of your family on the moon and project it back to you? Or take DNA up there?"

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.

"Perpetual ownership of private or government assets in space or on other bodies is a well defined, documented and practiced aspect of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty,” explained company CEO Bob Richards in a recent blog post.

In other words, the moon's resources are essentially waiting to be claimed -- all you need is a way to get there.

In June of this year, MoonEx's lunar lander successfully completed a flight test at the Hover Test Facility in NASA's Ames Research Center, according to the facility's quarterly magazine.

A NASA spokesman did not respond to FoxNews.com requests for information.

"The end of the shuttle program wasn't the end of the moon mission, it was simply passing the baton from the public to the private sector," Jain told FoxNews.com.

He believes it will cost a pittance -- under a hundred million dollars -- to go back to the moon.

"There's a tremendous amount of waste in the government. Private companies can do things better," he said.

From the Moon to Energy and Education?

Jain -- a billionaire who made his fortunes first with Microsoft, then with dotcom-era yellow page site InfoSpace Inc. -- believes in the power of creative thinking. In addition to MoonEx, he's the CEO of information-services company Intelius and co-chair of education and global development at the X Prize Foundation.

"To have the biggest impact, you have to solve the problem as an entrepreneur," Jain told FoxNews.com, summarizing a speech he gave Monday in New York at Pivotcon 2011, a conference on the rise of social media.

"We want to solve the problem of energy on Earth by using the moon as the eighth continent," he told FoxNews.com.

And its not as hard as you might think. The highest expense lies in getting to the moon, he explained. Going from the surface of the moon into orbit is easy. And a solar sail can drive a capsule containing mined resources back to earth orbit and down to the surface.

"It's rocket science but it's well understood rocket science," he said.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/...#ixzz1bAxGXNp0

Garcia Bronco · 10-18-2011, 04:49 PM

Do not mine the moon. Over a long enough period of time it could mess with our ecosystem down here.

jd1020 · 10-18-2011, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Garcia Bronco

Do not mine the moon. Over a long enough period of time it could mess with our ecosystem down here.

Who cares. We are all dead 12/12/2012.

Garcia Bronco · 10-18-2011, 04:55 PM

Shit...you are right. I forgot.

teedubya · 10-18-2011, 05:00 PM

Oh, the moon's resources are gonna be claimed by some corporation... surprise.

ShowtimeSBMVP · 10-18-2011, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jd1020

Who cares. We are all dead 12/12/2012.

12-21-2012

Pasta Little Brioni · 10-18-2011, 05:08 PM

M-O-O-N that spells moon

Fish · 10-18-2011, 05:10 PM

Yeah.... good luck with that.....

**Saul Good** · 10-18-2011, 05:22 PM

Mine that Bird

whoman69 · 10-18-2011, 07:08 PM

I've read about the helium 3 before. I have my doubts that anyone can make this cheap enough to be feasible in the near future. Costs are astronomical to leave orbit.

Demonpenz · 10-18-2011, 07:14 PM

Mime Warren Moon is easy, but it is hard to convence the crowd you can be successful without a tight end

ZootedGranny · 10-18-2011, 07:24 PM

Frazod · 10-18-2011, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whoman69

I've read about the helium 3 before. I have my doubts that anyone can make this cheap enough to be feasible in the near future. Costs are astronomical to leave orbit.

I've read about the concept of extending a miles-long conveyor system from a geo-synchronous space station to a fixed spot on the earth's surface. Once it became operational, the costs of moving things to and from orbit would drop dramatically.

And while I'm sure they could figure out how to build it, how the hell would you finance it?

GordonGekko · 10-18-2011, 10:30 PM

Until the next breakthrough in propulsion technology that makes getting into orbit from Earth economically feasible, the moon would have to yield pure diamonds for it to be worth it at the current costs for propellant to get into LEO.

**Dave Lane** · 10-18-2011, 10:38 PM

Hell just plain moon rock would probably sell for as much as diamonds anyway. At least for awhile.

10-18-2011, 04:38 PM
ShowtimeSBMVP Chiefs Join Date: Feb 2009 Casino cash: $3536009	Mine the Moon The moon is made of far more valuable stuff than green cheese. And one man wants to capitalize on that fact. NASA, which ended America's space shuttle program in June, says it wants to privatize spaceflight. Naveen Jain, co-founder and chairman of Moon Express, Inc., wants to go a step further: He wants to privatize the moon itself. 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." Green cheese indeed -- there's cash in them lunar hills! 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. Beyond mineral resources, Jain imagines a variety of ways to capitalize on the public's lunar love. "No one has ever captured people's fascination with the moon," he told FoxNews.com. "What if, say, we take a picture of your family on the moon and project it back to you? Or take DNA up there?" 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. "Perpetual ownership of private or government assets in space or on other bodies is a well defined, documented and practiced aspect of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty,” explained company CEO Bob Richards in a recent blog post. In other words, the moon's resources are essentially waiting to be claimed -- all you need is a way to get there. In June of this year, MoonEx's lunar lander successfully completed a flight test at the Hover Test Facility in NASA's Ames Research Center, according to the facility's quarterly magazine. A NASA spokesman did not respond to FoxNews.com requests for information. "The end of the shuttle program wasn't the end of the moon mission, it was simply passing the baton from the public to the private sector," Jain told FoxNews.com. He believes it will cost a pittance -- under a hundred million dollars -- to go back to the moon. "There's a tremendous amount of waste in the government. Private companies can do things better," he said. From the Moon to Energy and Education? Jain -- a billionaire who made his fortunes first with Microsoft, then with dotcom-era yellow page site InfoSpace Inc. -- believes in the power of creative thinking. In addition to MoonEx, he's the CEO of information-services company Intelius and co-chair of education and global development at the X Prize Foundation. "To have the biggest impact, you have to solve the problem as an entrepreneur," Jain told FoxNews.com, summarizing a speech he gave Monday in New York at Pivotcon 2011, a conference on the rise of social media. "We want to solve the problem of energy on Earth by using the moon as the eighth continent," he told FoxNews.com. And its not as hard as you might think. The highest expense lies in getting to the moon, he explained. Going from the surface of the moon into orbit is easy. And a solar sail can drive a capsule containing mined resources back to earth orbit and down to the surface. "It's rocket science but it's well understood rocket science," he said. Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/...#ixzz1bAxGXNp0
Posts: 23,755

10-18-2011, 04:49 PM	#2
Garcia Bronco No Keys, No Problem Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Denver Casino cash: $5163136	Do not mine the moon. Over a long enough period of time it could mess with our ecosystem down here.
Posts: 30,925

10-18-2011, 04:55 PM	#4
Garcia Bronco No Keys, No Problem Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Denver Casino cash: $5163136	Shit...you are right. I forgot.
Posts: 30,925

10-18-2011, 05:00 PM	#5
teedubya Most Valuable Poster Join Date: Oct 2003 Casino cash: $9480002	Oh, the moon's resources are gonna be claimed by some corporation... surprise.
Posts: 36,652

10-18-2011, 05:08 PM	#7
Pasta Little Brioni Consuming CP souls Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: U.S.A. Casino cash: $3828880	M-O-O-N that spells moon __________________ **Official TFWdemB Trivia Commisioner**
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10-18-2011, 05:10 PM	#8
Fish Ain't no relax! Join Date: Sep 2005 Casino cash: $2128919	Yeah.... good luck with that..... __________________
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10-18-2011, 05:22 PM	#9
Saul Good Quit your bullshit Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Bored of winning Casino cash: $10052799	Mine that Bird __________________ Today is not a good day to be a pussy.
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10-18-2011, 07:14 PM	#11
Demonpenz I got Rice cookin in the micro Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Apartment "G UNIT!" Casino cash: $3042136	Mime Warren Moon is easy, but it is hard to convence the crowd you can be successful without a tight end __________________
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10-18-2011, 07:24 PM	#12
ZootedGranny Chump Steamroller Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: . Casino cash: $10015042
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10-18-2011, 10:30 PM	#14
GordonGekko On the inside Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: San Antonio, TX Casino cash: $10008880	Until the next breakthrough in propulsion technology that makes getting into orbit from Earth economically feasible, the moon would have to yield pure diamonds for it to be worth it at the current costs for propellant to get into LEO.
Posts: 3,080

10-18-2011, 10:38 PM	#15
Dave Lane Space Cadet and Aczabel Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Kanab, UT, USA Casino cash: $9333275 VARSITY	Hell just plain moon rock would probably sell for as much as diamonds anyway. At least for awhile. __________________ Thanks, Trump for the civics lesson. We are learning so much about RICO, espionage, sedition, impeachment, the 25th Amendment, order of succession, nepotism, separation of powers, 1st Amendment, obstruction of justice, the emoluments clause, conflicts of interest, collusion, sanctions, oligarchs, money laundering and so much more.
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