The Moon contains a quantity of natural resources. While the specifics remain uncertain tensions are mounting as to who can claim access and to how the resources might be distributed. While no country ‘owns’ the Moon, the more powerful players are letting their claims be known.
Exploiting the resources of the Moon presents the problem that there is unlikely to be sufficient quantities of extractable resources to go around. This problem is exacerbated by the absence of any international policies or agreements to decide ‘who gets what from where’. As well as a likely area for conflict, those concerned about the environmental impact of planetary bodies will also be worried about what could soon be a rapid exhaustion of resources once Moon mining projects become the norm.
Mining will include the use of large equipment and also the harnessing of microbes, at least according to one project which is looking at how bacteria can be used to break rocks down into soil to help establish Moon bases.
There could also be some new minerals to find. The latest find from a piece of Moon meteorite is of a new mineral named donwilhelmsite, composed of calcium, aluminum, silicon, and oxygen atoms and formed under extremely high pressure.
With the future battle for the Moon’s resources, researchers based at the Center for Astrophysics at Harvard & Smithsonian have warned of conflicts arising in the near-term.
According to one of the astronomers involved with the review, Martin Elvis: “A lot of people think of space as a place of peace and harmony between nations. The problem is there’s no law to regulate who gets to use the resources, and there are a significant number of space agencies and others in the private sector that aim to land on the moon within the next five years.”
The biggest challenge will come from the Moon possessing only a few regions of interest, especially for what will be highly sought after materials such as water and iron. In particular, to build bases and develop equipment it is far more sensible to use the iron on the Moon than to transport it from Earth. Water will also be important for creating hydrogen fuel. Additionally, lunar rock samples indicate the presence of Helium-3, which would also be of value.
Whist the 1967 Outer Space Treaty and the 2020 Artemis Accords exist, these do not really protect the Moon from exploitation. These provisions require nations to
coordinate and notify, but they do not limit the mining of minerals by governments or private corporations.
The researchers warn that many of the resource rich areas will become areas of real estate at the high-value. For instance, at the Peaks of Eternal Light region of the Moon where the sun shines almost continuously.
The review appears in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, with the paper headed “Concentrated lunar resources: imminent implications for governance and justice.”
