The concept of a lunar economy, with its own supply chain, might appear far-fetched, yet its groundwork is already being laid. This economy will focus on harnessing the moon’s natural resources to build scientific infrastructure on its surface and enhance capabilities for future space exploration. The moon is considered a potential spaceport for journeys to more distant destinations, such as Mars.
Various countries and companies are competing to participate in this new lunar opportunity, including Firefly Aerospace, a private space firm based in Texas. The company’s Blue Ghost 1 mission, launched on January 15, has recently demonstrated what an Earth-to-moon delivery system’s initial stage might look like.
Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander is currently en route to the moon’s surface. To accomplish its mission, the module needs to enter orbit, execute a controlled descent to Mare Crisium—a substantial basin in the moon’s northern hemisphere—endure the harsh conditions, deploy scientific equipment, take environmental readings, and autonomously drill and extract regolith.
This mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, under which the space agency is awarding contracts to companies to address space exploration challenges. While NASA is focused on returning astronauts to the moon under the Artemis program, private firms will be responsible for sending supplies and retrieving samples collected by the crew.
Before an Earth–moon delivery system can be realized, companies must demonstrate their technological ability to land technology on the lunar surface. Blue Ghost’s crucial test is scheduled for March 2, when it’s set to land on the moon.
The module carries ten experiments, including a computer designed to measure the resistance of circuits to space radiation and a specialized camera for studying floating regolith, or dust particles suspended above the moon’s surface. The lander is also equipped to photograph a lunar eclipse, an event where the moon moves into Earth’s shadow, blocking sunlight.
Ahead of the descent, NASA has released images of the lander maneuvering into lunar orbit.
The potential lunar economy has placed significant interest on helium-3, a material with applications as a potential fuel for nuclear fusion both on Earth and in space, as well as uses in quantum computing and medical imaging. Helium-3, a stable isotope of helium with two protons and one neutron, is not naturally found on Earth. It has been produced in limited quantities through nuclear weapons tests, nuclear reactors, and radioactive decay and is highly valued.
Helium-3 is generated by fusion in the sun and spreads across the solar system via solar winds. The Earth’s magnetosphere deflects these particles, but the moon, lacking a magnetosphere, may have regolith pockets containing this isotope. A startup has proposed mining helium-3 from the moon.
Also under consideration is the potential for reactions between lunar surface minerals and water to produce oxygen and hydrogen, which could serve as rocket propellant.
A sustained human presence on the moon will likely necessitate additional services. Concepts such as lunar roads, railroads, and concrete have been suggested to support this presence. The realization of these proposals partially depends on CLPS missions like Blue Ghost. In the future, images of landers entering lunar orbit to establish space delivery systems are expected to become common fixtures.
This article was originally published on WIRED en Español and translated from Spanish.
