US space agency Nasa has ambitions to mine resources on the moon in the next decade, with the goal of excavating the soil there by 2032.
Nasa plans to send Americans back to the moon by 2025 for its Artemis mission, including the first women and person of color, the first humans to land on the moon since Nasa’s Apollo 17 astronauts in 1972.
That mission, meant to further explore the lunar surface, will gather information for what the agency hopes will be a later trip to Mars.
“We will collaborate with commercial and international partners and establish the first long-term presence on the moon,” according to information on Nasa’s website, about the Artemis mission.
“Then, we will use what we learn on and around the Moon to take the next giant leap: sending the first astronauts to Mars,” it continued.
Nasa will first be looking at ways to develop oxygen and water supplies on the arid lunar surface, which does not have breathable air in its thin atmosphere, later expanding to exploit other minerals such as iron. Later this month, Nasa will send a test drill into space with plans to harvest lunar soil, with sights set on building a processing plant by 2032.
“We are trying to invest in the exploration phase, understand the resources … to [lower] risk such that external investment makes sense that could lead to development and production,” said Gerald Sanders, a rocket scientist with Nasa’s Johnson Space Center, during a mining conference in Brisbane.
“We are literally just scratching the surface,” Sanders added.
Scientists hope to use the Artemis mission to expand commercial opportunities in space. Commercial rocket companies are expected to be among the first customers, using the moon’s resources for fuel.
The second phase of the Artemis mission will launch in 2024, reported Space.com, Four astronauts will be sent on an eight-day mission around the moon, the first time astronauts will go around the moon since 1972.
In April, Nasa named the four astronauts who would be participating in the lunar mission.
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Christina Koch, a mission specialist for the voyage, will be the first woman ever to be sent on a lunar mission. As an engineer, Koch already holds the record for the longest continuous space flight by a woman.
Victor Glover, a US navy aviator, will be the first Black astronaut on a lunar mission. Glover will serve as the Artemis II pilot.
The final two members of the mission include Jeremy Hansen, the first Canadian ever selected for a mission to the moon and mission specialist for Artemis II, and Reid Wiseman, Artemis II mission commander.
Reuters contributed reporting