Robotic landers could start mining the moon as early as 2020

said braka 10:58 PM
A permanent robotic mining outpost on the moon

could be on the cards as early as 2020. The Florida-based company Moon Express has raised over $45 million in funding for three expeditions that will culminate in a mission to mine moon rocks and return them to Earth.
Because the laws governing usage of resources in space are vague, a profit-driven mission of this kind could cause international controversy. “It’s something that is being discussed internationally now, but there is no agreed-upon answer, and I’m not sure there’s going to be,” says Henry Hertzfeld at the George Washington University Space Policy Institute in Washington, DC.

Who owns the moon? Learn more at New Scientist Live in London

Moon Express was founded in 2010 with the aim of winning the Google Lunar XPRIZE, a $20 million award for the first privately funded vehicle to land on the moon. The launch deadline is the end of 2017, so Moon Express hopes to launch Lunar Scout, its first planned expedition, this year.
The engines for the company’s landers have been built and are being tested, but other parts are still being developed and manufactured. The Electron rocket, made by private spaceflight company Rocket Lab, is slated to carry Lunar Scout but has never yet reached orbit.

“We have a lot to do in a very short time frame, and Rocket Lab has a lot to do in a very short time frame,” Moon Express chief executive Bob Richards told a press conference yesterday.