Space Is Open for Business

Overview

Over the past decade, at least $781 million in private investments have gone toward the lunar industry. But the lunar economy is still in the very early stages. For now, the main customers in the lunar industry are governments, but that could change as NASA’s Artemis space program matures and more companies and investors make big bets on the Moon. Competition among countries, greater communication, data needs, and defense rank among the top reasons for early government spending. When breakthrough products and services that are unique to the Moon emerge, there will likely be even bigger growth from commercial and consumer spending.

1. Space-Based Entertainment Is Coming

Last October, Russia became the first country to shoot a movie in space with The Challenge. But, the new startup media company Space Entertainment Enterprise (S.E.E.) is working with Axiom Space to build an entertainment studio in space . With a low-gravity environment, S.E.E. is (quite literally) widening Hollywood’s orbit, helping to usher in a new era of sci-fi adventure films. Targeting a late 2024 launch, the studio will be available for artists, filmmakers, and more to produce and record live-stream content in outer space. S.E.E. will be producing Tom Cruise’s upcoming film in space. Cruise will be the first civilian to ever do a spacewalk with SpaceX to shoot his new action-adventure . The movie won't be using CGI or greenscreens to give viewers the real feel. They're launching the celeb directly to the International Space Station. Artists and musicians are even going to the moon. Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa has handpicked his crew of artists and creatives who will join him in his privately-funded mission around the Moon. He said that each artist would be asked to make a work reflecting their experience in outer space . The crew consists of DJ Steve Aoki, musician Choi Seung-hyun, choreographer and performer Yemi A.D., photographer Rhiannon Adam, YouTuber Tim Dodd, photographer Karim Iliya, filmmaker Brendan Hall, and actor Dev Joshi.

2. Lunar Gold Rush?

What natural resources might moon-mining yield? Chinese scientists found a single crystal of a new phosphate mineral that they have named Changesite-(Y) on the moon . Lunar samples are the “coin of the realm” for understanding planetary evolution. Samples from “other geologically interesting sites,” especially from younger terrain on the planet, could help broaden scientists’ understanding of how the moon evolved. New minerals discovered on the moon are not abundant though, and the moon won’t just help yield precious metals like gold and platinum, or rare minerals, but water. Water is one of the most valuable materials in space. NASA has confirmed deposits of ice inside deep craters near the lunar south pole. Water extracted from the moon would be more than a life-support consumable for astronauts; it could also be converted into oxygen and hydrogen which, when combined, make a powerful rocket propellant . There are currently three different companies, Masten Space Systems, Lunar Outpost, and Honeybee Robotics, currently working to develop new mining technologies to utilize this technology.This has led to upcoming moon expeditions targeting unexplored territory on the moon.

3. The Space Race for Cellular

The potential untapped market — which hinges on, but extends beyond, sending a text via space — are diverging into two strategies. The first are those putting specialized antennas in phones, versus those putting high-powered antennas on the satellites themselves. Nokia is going to make sure you have service on the Moon , thanks to a new contract from NASA. The LTE network, called the “Tipping Point” project, would give service to astronauts living and working on the Moon as part of NASA’s Artemis program and eventually Mars. From a research perspective, Nokia also wants to provide insights into how to bring cell service to extreme environments on Earth. SpaceX and T-Mobile announced plans to start delivering service through SpaceX's Starlink by the end of next year in the United States. The partnership would effectively enable cellphones to do what satellite phones can do. Apple is the leading provider of satellite smartphone communications so far, albeit in a limited capacity to start providing this technology . They recently announced an emergency feature of iPhone 14 models that leverages this satellite technology. In partnership with Globalstar, the feature allows users to send compressed text messages from iPhone 14s via satellites.

4. Orbital Gas Stations

Startup Orbit Fab thinks space will have some willing customers when it comes to filling up tanks. The Colorado-based company won a $13.3 million contract from the United States Space Force to build a gas station in orbit. Orbit Fab has been developing technologies needed for in-space refueling of spacecraft. This includes the Rapidly Attachable Fluid Transfer Interface, and a refueling port for satellites. In 2021 they launched their first small tanker, Tenzing, to test operations of future tankers for refueling satellites.The station will fill up Space Force’s geostationary military satellites starting in 2025, but Orbit Fab is open to all customers looking to top off before an interstellar voyage. Refueling is emerging as a key initial market for the broader satellite servicing industry , given the benefits it offers in extending the life and increasing the maneuverability of satellites.

5. Private Moon Missions ?

The successful launch of Artemis I has opened the door for expanding the lunar economy. NASA plans to send people to the lunar surface by 2025 with a larger goal to eventually create a "sustained'' lunar presence . Before the end of the decade, “we’re going to be sending people down to the surface and they’re going to be living on that surface,” said NASA Program Manager Howard Hu. Private companies, like ispace and Astroboticl, are already planning to send missions to the lunar surface, delivering cargo not just for government customers, but also for other companies.

6. Hilton Is Changing the Sheets in Space

Voyager and Lockheed Martin are planning to launch a space station in the near future dubbed Starlab. They reached out to Hilton and asked them to design the suites and bedrooms. Starlab plans to be more than just a destination, it will be an experience made infinitely more unique and artful. They plan to have the capacity to continuously host up to four astronauts and house the George Washington Carver (GWC) Science Park, a state-of-the-art laboratory system and first science park in-space. Their plan is to have the space station up and running by 2027. Under the partnership, Hilton and Voyager will also look at marketing opportunities related to Starlab and trips becoming the first possible hotel in space. NASA has granted contracts to four private companies who are building private space stations ahead of the agency's planned decommissioning of the International Space Station at the end of the decade.

Takeaway

Private sector business leaders and government agencies have transformed what was once merely a dream of travel among the stars into a fully functioning global market. This year marks the biggest year on record for private equity and venture capital investment in space companies, with more than $10 billion invested in the industry through the third quarter. The growth in space exploration and the private aerospace business opens a host of economic possibilities, from new markets for businesses to job opportunities for people. This year is likely to be even bigger, as investment funds look to provide capital to startups and early-stage space ventures in the hopes of a big return.

Visual Design by Jonné P. , Research and Write Up by Catherine Marsh

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