The moon, Earth’s natural satellite, bringer of light at night and a celestial body that is so close and yet so far away. It’s a romantic presence in the lives of mankind. When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon in 1969 and made their moonwalk, they opened the possibility of finding new uses of this crater-filled neighbor.
Man has been mining the Earth since antiquity. Now the moon might be a source of rare resources that can be made use of on Earth. Geological surveys have determined that the moon is home to three important elements - water, Helium-3, and rare earth metals (REMs) such as the fifteen lanthanides, scandium, and yttrium.
The U.S. government has granted private company Moon Express permission to travel outside of Earth's orbit. The company has raised tens of millions of dollars for space and lunar exploration. Robots on the moon could mine Helium-3 and tap into the moon's water.
Ian Crawford, a professor of planetary science and astrobiology at Birkbeck College, London, says that the moon has a lot of raw materials that could be economically interesting. Earth, however, already has the same basic chemical elements that are found on the moon and in higher concentrations as well as in places that have existing infrastructure, experience, and manpower.
Mining on Earth is something that is evolving with the times. Mining companies are using new technologies to make their efforts more efficient. Innovative Minerals is a gold mining company that is using blockchain technology to improve the mining process and offer new investment opportunities. To find out more about this project which features a cryptocurrency that is backed by the gold that it mines, visit www.innovative-minerals.io.
Sources: JPL, CNBC, IFLScience, Space.com
