Ambition to exploit the moon

The earth's thirst for resources will soon be released when efforts to exploit resources on the moon begin to be privatized.

Growing up in a poor rural area of ​​India, Naveen Jain often watches the moon every night and dreams of a better life. Now, he still retains the habit of looking towards Ms Hang but with a completely different reason. Jain, 55, is a US citizen and co-founder of Moon Express, based in Mountain View, California. He caused a stir among businessmen and scientists with the announcement of his plan to make Moon Express the first private resource operator on the moon.

Mine of Ms. Hang

Forbes magazine quoted billionaire Jian as saying that there are huge gold mines on the moon, not to mention iron, cobalt, titanium and tungsteng mines. Furthermore, the moon is thought to contain a large number of palladium, niobium, yttrium and dysprosium. These are all very rare metals on earth but play an integral role in many electronics and technology manufacturing industries, present in microchips, cars and intercontinental missiles and laser weapons. . In particular, the moon's largest resource is at least 1 million cubic meters of helium-3 gas, the cleanest and safest nuclear power production material. Helium-3 is quite rare on earth and is rated by experts as a perfect energy source that can replace oil and gas.

Sketching the idea of ​​sending Moon mining vessel to Moon Express - (Photo: Moonexpress.com)

Until now, the exploration of the moon is still undertaken by the state and due to many technological and political obstacles, no country has officially entered the exploitation of the huge resources of Ms. Hang. Therefore, Moon Express is determined to become a pioneer to explore the path of privatizing this challenging field. According to CNET, billionaire Jian gave the company's chairman the veteran expert in the commercialization of the universe, Andrew Aldrin. He was the son of astronaut Buzz Aldrin, who joined Neil Armstrong on the moon in 1969.

Currently, 50 experts from Moon Express, most of whom worked for NASA, are working to complete the program of launching an explorer ship to the moon by the end of 2015. 'If the ship lands safely and sends images to the station. Earth, we will proceed to test carrying objects from the moon to the earth , 'Jian told CNBC.

Potential risks

So far there has not been any legal basis regarding the exploitation of the moon, with the exception of a number of regulatory frameworks set by NASA and other national space agencies. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, billionaire Naveen Jain was not worried about the risk of a dispute.'I think the moon is like the international seas on earth. No one owns it and companies can still exploit it on the principle of whoever finds it first. ' However, some experts worry that the situation will not be as simple as the moon has long been the "underground battlefield" of the parties and cannot rule out military and security risks.

According to the Indomitus.net website, the 1967 Space Treaty was approved by the United States and the Soviet Union, which states that no country can claim any place outside the world. But there seems to be an underground division between the two Cold War superpowers in the moon territory. No Soviet spacecraft was put on the moon from February 13, 1966 to August 9, 1976 landing inside a pentagon shaped area determined by the landing point of Surveyor 1 spacecraft. , Surveyor 7, Apollo 11, Apollo 17 and Apollo 15 of the United States. In contrast, during the period of July 28, 1964, to December 19, 1972, no American ship responded to the line established by the ships Luna 9, Luna 2, Luna 21 and Luna 16 of the Soviet Union. Later, some countries proposed the Moon Treaty, which came into effect in 1984, stipulates that the moon is the common property of mankind and serves the interests of all nations. However, only 13 countries have ratified the treaty. Among them are no India, America, Russia and China.

Most recently, after China put the Jade Rabbit self-propelled ship on the moon late last year, The Beijing Times quoted a number of experts as saying the country was able to establish a military base there. Since 2010, Mr. Ton Gia Dong, former General in charge of China's first satellite satellite technology, has called for a quick effort to achieve the results of moon exploration when ' international discussion about sharing benefits on the moon, China will have a greater right to speak and protect its legal rights. '