Start care about: Lunar Economy

A lunar economy encompasses all general economic activity associated with the production, use and exchange of lunar resources on the Moon's surface, in lunar orbit and on Earth.

So, simply put, you can be "on" the moon too.

Towards the development of a sustainable lunar economy, a plethora of business opportunities is enabled by lunar communication and navigation services. These are expected to initially focus on the establishment of a presence on the Moon's surface before commercialising lunar data and exploiting in-situ resources.

The paper "Moon Market Analysis, 2nd Edition" from <www.nsr.com> finds a developing moon market positioned to generate +$105 Billion over the next decade. Some experts now talks about even higher numbers, almost the double.

A market extending beyond space actors and increasingly involving terrestrial industries Growing involvement from non-space actors is expected in the lunar ecosystem despite it being associated with a select group of space agencies or space companies. Terrestrial industries such as the automotive, mining or construction industries have identified close synergies in terms of their core expertise and the challenges met in the lunar exploration when working in remote locations and hostile environments. Both technology spin-offs and spin-ins are targeted by these actors, many of which are already concretely engaged in research activities and cooperation with Moon exploration actors, be it space agencies or commercial actors. As a consequence, such actors are expected to have an increasing role in particular after 2030, constituting a sizeable share of the lunar transportation market as payloads increase in mass and number. This was all stated in the research paper "Lunar market assessment: market trends and challenges in the development of a lunar economy" (2021) from Price Waterhouse Coopers.

There are some extremely valuable resources on the moon that could support such a lunar economy. Helium-3 is one moon resource that is rare on earth but much more abundant on the lunar surface and could potentially be cheaper to mine from the moon. Helium-3 is a very attractive fuel for future nuclear fusion reactors.

Some early private companies like Shackleton Energy Company, Deep Space Industries, Planetoid Mines, Golden Spike Company, Planetary Resources, Astrobotic Technology, and Moon Express are planning private commercial scouting and mining ventures on the Moon.

While United States astronauts were the first to visit the Moon, this does not mean that the United States owns it. In fact, under the 1967 Outer Space Treaty no country has a unique ownership in the Moon and all nations are accorded equal rights and access.

European Space Agency (ESA) is now calling for visionary ideas for how to use a constellation of communication and navigation satellites around the Moon to establish lunar businesses – and unlock opportunities on Earth.

Hundreds of missions to the Moon are due to be launched in the coming years. To create a sustainable lunar link, ESA has initiated its Moonlight programme to support space companies in Europe to create a constellation of lunar satellites. The satellites will offer communication and navigation services that could empower entrepreneurs to create innovative businesses for customers on the Moon and on Earth.

These businesses will create new jobs in Europe and around the world. As well as on the moon. Time to get involved, no doubt about it. See you up there.

--Mattias Hansson, Swedish space entrepreneur, with I.S.A.A.C

#newspace #lunareconomy #spacesustainability #spaceeconomy #spaceindustry

#ISAAC #internationalspaceassettaccelerationcompany #swedeninspace