Space is governed by the
Making territorial claims in space is illegal under international law. It's been 50 years since humans last visited the Moon, and even robotic missions have been few and far between.
While United States astronauts were the first to visit the Moon, this does not mean that the United States owns it. In fact, under the 1967 Outer Space Treaty no country has a unique ownership in the Moon and all nations are accorded equal rights and access.
NASA is pressing ahead with its mission to mine metals on the moon, seeking to bolster the sustainable space travel market and set the tone for a growing space race with China.
International space law allows space mining, specifically the extraction of natural resources. It is generally understood within the space law authorities that extracting space resources is allowable, even by private companies for profit.
Pollution would be a terrible problem if we mined the moon the way we do Earth. The moon's near perfect vacuum is going to be useful in all kinds of processing. If we dumped gases on the moon the way we do on Earth, we'd ruin that perfection. You see, most gas molecules move more slowly than the lunar escape velocity.
Common items like salt and bread are banned from the International Space Station due to fears that they'll send floating pieces everywhere and potentially damage space equipment or accidentally get inhaled by astronauts. Basic eating, sleeping, and showering habits must also be modified.
The moon isn't so barren after all. A 2009 NASA mission—in which a rocket slammed into the moon and a second spacecraft studied the blast—revealed that the lunar surface contains an array of compounds, including gold, silver, and mercury, according to PBS.
In addition, lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, niobium, molybdenum, lanthanum, europium, tungsten, and gold have been found in trace amounts.
China in 2021 formally announced a plan for an International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) to be constructed in the 2030s. It will initially be robotic then made suitable for long-term habitation by crew. The ILRS project includes Russia as a key partner.
Cost To Go To the Moon
Taking that as 1973 dollars, that's roughly equivalent to a little over $157 billion in dollars today, or about $9.3 billion a year.
The Outer Space Treaty means therefore that - no matter whose national flags are planted on the lunar surface - no nation can 'own' the Moon.
Satellite imaging has shown that the top 10 centimetres of regolith (moon soil) at the south pole of the moon appear to hold about 100 times more gold than the richest mines on earth. Only a few years ago, most geologists would have laughed at the idea of mining anything from our moon.
You've only ever seen half of the Moon in the sky. Earth's Moon rotates, but it takes precisely as long for the Moon to spin on its axis as it does to complete its monthly orbit around Earth. As a result, the Moon never turns its back to us, like a dancer circling ― but always facing ― its partner.
The goal of Moon mining, according to Ralston, would be to create a self-sustaining, closed-loop habitat on the Moon – an effort which will require not just using the resources available in the local area, but also figuring out what to do with waste products.
There is an asteroid with a metal-composition that lurks around between Mars and Jupiter while orbiting the Sun and it is made up mainly of gold. Named 'Psyche 16', it was first discovered in 1852 by Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis and he named the asteroid after the Greek Goddess of Soul 'Psyche'.
Saturn's rings appear golden as the planet's shadow drapes across nearly the whole span of the rings.
In our solar system alone, there is an asteroid between Mars and Jupiter named 16 Psyche that scientists believe contains more than 700 quintillion dollars in gold and other precious metals.
Scientists have found evidence of cubic zirconia in Moon rocks, showing that the universe not only holds diamonds, but its own fire-safe knock-offs. Space could be absolutely shimmering with precious stones, though Mao emphasizes that they probably aren't quite like the ones in earthlings' jewelry boxes.
It tends to have a more yellow or orange hue, compared to when it's high overhead. This happens because the Moon's light travels a longer distance through the atmosphere. As it travels a longer path, more of the shorter, bluer wavelengths of light are scattered away, leaving more of the longer, redder wavelengths.
Lunar resources will be important for common lithophile elements such as aluminum, titanium, and calcium. And the Moon may also have ores of rare, incompatible, lithophile elements such as beryllium, lithium, zirconium, niobium, tantalum, and so forth.
While the zero gravity atmosphere does not have an impact on tears forming, it has an affect on if they fall, and they don't. The water that builds up in you eye from crying will stay there until the bubble gets so big it moves to another spot on your face, or it's removed.
Radiation
Radiation is not only stealthy, but considered one of the most menacing of the five hazards. Above Earth's natural protection, radiation exposure increases cancer risk, damages the central nervous system, can alter cognitive function, reduce motor function and prompt behavioral changes.
NASA is the only space agency in the world that has this regulation. NASA's official explanation for this regulation is that the presence of a married couple aboard a space mission could potentially become disturbing to the other astronauts.