Just heard on the News there's a so-called Moon Rush underway! Teams and companies around the world are beavering away on new devices to mine the moon for it's rich resources.
As no-one can own the Moon anyone can land on it, build on it and exploit it. Minerals, Plutonium and water appear to be high on the hit list for future lunar mines.
It all sounds very Andersonesque and the stuff of Sci Fi. What do you think, will it ever really happen?
Now that private industry - and the inherent greed that accompanies it - is in the picture, I personally have no doubts that the REAL race for space is on! What we've experienced space-wise since the 1950s has been the equivalent of a plodding potato sack race. There are now many more players on the field. Let The Race Begin!
ReplyDeleteIn not-too-distant future people will look at old pictures and documents of the Moon in awe, seeing Luna still untouched, not dotted with lights from the mining colonies (and an occasional Moonbase). When we look at the best lunar sci-fi illustrations we usually see one pair of tracks left by a single moon vehicle. But when the Race for the Moon starts in earnest, our satellite may well become totally de-dusted, not to say "de-faced". So enjoy the Moon while it lasts. ...
ReplyDeletearto - thats a beautifully poignant statement. And probably scarily prophetic.
ReplyDeleteFor us the Moon still has a romantic aura, but in coming decades when it's easy to reach it'll just be considered a quarry. I can imagine future conservationists looking at the scene Arto describes and calling for lunar preservation laws just so that future generations can remember what it meant to us in the distant past.
ReplyDelete(In fact, something very much like this is depicted in the second episode of Futurama...)
One thing we should worry about in the near term is making sure commercial exploitation doesn't erode the idea of no one owning the Moon. Mining and industrial companies will naturally insist their bases are their private property, and before you know it there will be all sorts of unofficial but hard rules about where non-business interests are allowed to set foot. "It's everyone's property, we just happen to be using it now" can turn into "we've always used this property, it's just understood" and then into "everyone knows this is ours" before the law even notices...
I can see it already: setting aside a portion of the Moon as a National Park to preserve a slice of original Moon cheese. Note to tourists "No Poaching Allowed"
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