David W. Brown on how NASA’s wildly ambitious Artemis program aims to use the private sector (and companies such as SpaceX) to get us back to the moon for good.
There are lots of reasons to return to the lunar surface. Some planetary scientists want to learn more about the history of the early solar system; the moon is useful in this regard because, unlike the Earth, it has a surface that is ancient and pristine. Some companies want to build private mining operations there. Tourists want to go and take selfies. All or none of these things may come to pass, and they don’t necessarily make a coherent picture.
Lunar refineries could separate the hydrogen and oxygen atoms of water molecules, then possibly use them to create breathable air and rocket fuel—resources that are enormously expensive to send from Earth. Private companies could also prospect for rare materials, Old West style. On the moon, there’s gold in them hills, not just metaphorically but literally. All this is the best-case, far-future outcome.
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