Pamela D. Lloyd (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
pameladlloyd) wrote2008-10-03 11:00 pm
pameladlloyd) wrote2008-10-03 11:00 pm
Entry tags:
Mining the Moon
In the comments to my previous post, I told the following story:
This prompted a question by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
asakiyume regarding what resources a mining company might be interested in exploiting. Since human exploration of space is an old interest of mine, I couldn't just give a quick answer, so I've decided to make a post on this subject.
There are a number of resources on the moon that many see as valuable. I did a quick search online, to refresh and update my knowledge, since most of what I know is out of date and much of it is based on science fiction. (Which isn't really what I'd call a reliable source, much as I love it. *g*).
Some articles I found discuss moon resources primarily in terms of the space program. Space.com's Mining the Moon, the Gateway to Mars is one of these and states: "In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), the using[sic] of native materials and energy sources collected and processed to support human and robotic exploration, would be crucial to the success of manned space missions as ISRU-derived materials would replace those that otherwise would have to be hauled from Earth." These materials include: "[p]ropellant, energy, water and oxygen, [and] building materials." I find the lunar material, ilmenite, a mineral which can be processed to product oxygen, extremely interesting, as mining this might mean that people living on the moon wouldn't be dependent upon bringing oxygen with them from Earth. NASA's educational resources include a student exercise, Moon Mining, presents a lesson intended to "[simulate] the locating and the mining of ilmenite for oxygen on the moon."
The educational site, Planetary Science Research Discoveries has a couple of articles that touch on this subject. The first of these is a report from the Space Resources Roundtable II, which met in 2000: Mining the Moon, Mars, and Asteroids, which suggests that the moon offers excellent conditions for gathering solar energy which could be shipped back to Earth, then goes on to mention the extraction of oxygen, iron, and titanium from the lunar soil. The other, Two Views of the Moon's Composition (2007) discusses controversy over what we'll find on the moon. It's focus is on the presence of refractory elements, elements which it defines as "those that boil at high temperatures, such as calcium and aluminum." According to one view, with respect to those materials, the moon has roughly the same composition as Earth, while according to the other, it may have 50% more. According to Two Views of the Moon's Composition, we don't have inough information about the moon's composition to reach a conclusion about the moon's true composition. However, either scenario, it seems to me, provides plenty of motivation to a mining company, especially since it's likely that they would not be subject to the same set of laws that constrain their activities on Earth, with regard to environmental protections, at least.
Scientists have attempted to estimate the quantities of various lunar resources using a variety of methods. Much of the information we have about the moon and its composition is based on materials brought back from our manned landings. Apollo 15 brought back a sample of green glass spheres that lunar experts believe are volcanic in origin.
If I understand the text regarding this material, it is low in aluminum oxide (Al2O3) when compared to similar volcanic materials formed on Earth, suggesting that "plagioclase feldspar (rich in Al2O3)" would be more common in the moon's crust than Earth's, with the moon's mantle being "depleted" of this mineral. Another technique used is through analyses of remote sensing data from the Lunar Prospector mission in attempts to estimate the quantity of Al2O3 in the crust. This method depends upon the presence of thorium (Th) and the explanation is fairly complicated. If you're interested, I recommend you start with the Two Views of the Moon's Composition article, as it provides an overview and links to several other resources.
We may have more information about the moon's composition soon, as there are "[a]t least four missions are slated to orbit the Moon during the next few years: Chandryaan (India), Selene (Japan), Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (USA), and Chang'e 1 (China)."
I think this is all very cool; we are living in the future. *g*
Many years ago, I applied for a position with a mining company. There was a painting of a strip mine on the moon hanging on the wall and when I commented on it, the man interviewing me (he was pretty far up the chain in the company) explained that he had commissioned the painting, because it was his dream to someday mine the moon. I've always had mixed feelings about that. It's the sort of activity that probably has to occur, but I hate to think of the moon being chewed up, that way. At the same time, moving that kind of activity away from Earth might help to improve (or at least prevent future damage to) our Earth environment.
This prompted a question by
asakiyume regarding what resources a mining company might be interested in exploiting. Since human exploration of space is an old interest of mine, I couldn't just give a quick answer, so I've decided to make a post on this subject.There are a number of resources on the moon that many see as valuable. I did a quick search online, to refresh and update my knowledge, since most of what I know is out of date and much of it is based on science fiction. (Which isn't really what I'd call a reliable source, much as I love it. *g*).
Some articles I found discuss moon resources primarily in terms of the space program. Space.com's Mining the Moon, the Gateway to Mars is one of these and states: "In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), the using[sic] of native materials and energy sources collected and processed to support human and robotic exploration, would be crucial to the success of manned space missions as ISRU-derived materials would replace those that otherwise would have to be hauled from Earth." These materials include: "[p]ropellant, energy, water and oxygen, [and] building materials." I find the lunar material, ilmenite, a mineral which can be processed to product oxygen, extremely interesting, as mining this might mean that people living on the moon wouldn't be dependent upon bringing oxygen with them from Earth. NASA's educational resources include a student exercise, Moon Mining, presents a lesson intended to "[simulate] the locating and the mining of ilmenite for oxygen on the moon."
The educational site, Planetary Science Research Discoveries has a couple of articles that touch on this subject. The first of these is a report from the Space Resources Roundtable II, which met in 2000: Mining the Moon, Mars, and Asteroids, which suggests that the moon offers excellent conditions for gathering solar energy which could be shipped back to Earth, then goes on to mention the extraction of oxygen, iron, and titanium from the lunar soil. The other, Two Views of the Moon's Composition (2007) discusses controversy over what we'll find on the moon. It's focus is on the presence of refractory elements, elements which it defines as "those that boil at high temperatures, such as calcium and aluminum." According to one view, with respect to those materials, the moon has roughly the same composition as Earth, while according to the other, it may have 50% more. According to Two Views of the Moon's Composition, we don't have inough information about the moon's composition to reach a conclusion about the moon's true composition. However, either scenario, it seems to me, provides plenty of motivation to a mining company, especially since it's likely that they would not be subject to the same set of laws that constrain their activities on Earth, with regard to environmental protections, at least.
Scientists have attempted to estimate the quantities of various lunar resources using a variety of methods. Much of the information we have about the moon and its composition is based on materials brought back from our manned landings. Apollo 15 brought back a sample of green glass spheres that lunar experts believe are volcanic in origin.
If I understand the text regarding this material, it is low in aluminum oxide (Al2O3) when compared to similar volcanic materials formed on Earth, suggesting that "plagioclase feldspar (rich in Al2O3)" would be more common in the moon's crust than Earth's, with the moon's mantle being "depleted" of this mineral. Another technique used is through analyses of remote sensing data from the Lunar Prospector mission in attempts to estimate the quantity of Al2O3 in the crust. This method depends upon the presence of thorium (Th) and the explanation is fairly complicated. If you're interested, I recommend you start with the Two Views of the Moon's Composition article, as it provides an overview and links to several other resources.
We may have more information about the moon's composition soon, as there are "[a]t least four missions are slated to orbit the Moon during the next few years: Chandryaan (India), Selene (Japan), Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (USA), and Chang'e 1 (China)."
I think this is all very cool; we are living in the future. *g*
no subject
Will read the links over the next few days--thanks for collecting the information in one spot!
no subject
The energy idea is very interesting, isn't it? Clean energy obtained without polluting the Earth in the process. My greatest concern about transmitting energy directly to Earth is that doing so means we're increasing the Earth's energy. We can't forget that the law of conservation of energy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation_of_energy) will still apply, so when we use it, it doesn't actually go away, it just gets changed into another form--"waste energy," as some call it--that would, I think, continue to contribute to global warming if we don't figure out a way to dissipate it back into space. The mechanism would be different, but the results could be just as dangerous.
no subject
no subject
Did you go by the same user name in the Conflux minicon? I just glanced through the Speakeasy pages and didn't find you.
LiveJournal has special code for making links to a user: <lj user="username">. You can also find all sorts of helpful hints on their support pages (http://www.livejournal.com/support/), especially the Frequently Asked Questions section, which I can assure you I've made extensive use of.
no subject
I wasn't actually in the Speakeasy every much, I made one entry before it started and then a couple after it finished...I completely forgot it was on *d'oh*. I was signed on as Scifimama. It was more a case of I met you, rather than a two-way street, I read and enjoyed your posts.
no subject
LOL. You don't have to if you don't want to. I would never want to encourage someone to engage in gender-specific behavior that was against their nature. *g*
Given the semi-permanent nature of Internet interactions, I was able to go back and check your post in the Speakeasy and I see that you were the one looking around for the cops, so perhaps your concerns for your family and how they would feel in the event of an arrest had something to do with your low profile. ;->