The Earth’s supply of traditional energy sources is diminishing causing a shift towards renewable... more The Earth’s supply of traditional energy sources is diminishing causing a shift towards renewable resources. This shift has been slow due to the limited supply and high cost of critical metals including Rare Earth Elements (REEs), Platinum Group Metals (PGMs), and scarce industrial metals. In the foreseeable future, off-world resources will be required to transition fully to renewable energy sources adequate for a reasonable standard of living for all Earth’s inhabitants. Existing data suggests that trillions of dollars of PGMs and REEs might currently exist on the moon posing an excellent financial opportunity if the deposits match earth deposits. The Mining and Acquisition of Valuable Extraterrestrial Resources for Industrial Commercialization (MAVERIC) program entails a commercial lunar outpost and mining venture. The lunar outpost would support 30 crew members to maintain the mining equipment, plus visiting scientists. The lunar equipment will be lifted to LEO, where a commercial station will be located, by a new reusable SSTO. An Aerobraked Orbital Transfer Vehicle (ABOTV) will serve as an upper stage tug to transfer between LEO and LLO. A reusable lander, refueled on the Moon, will then make the transfer from LLO to the lunar surface. A nuclear power plant will provide the large scale power needs of the lunar systems. A reduction reactor LOX plant will be used to provide oxidizer for the lander. The mining equipment will process regolith and asteroid fragments, initially extracting PGMs. Once the infrastructure is in place, volatiles and REEs will be extracted. The mined product will be returned directly to Earth’s surface by means of a lunar surface sling. The program is projected to cost $161.4 billion and return $847.8 billion, including both the commercial LEO station and the mining venture. The program is estimated to start receiving a return on investment 8 years after development starts.
The Earth’s supply of traditional energy sources is diminishing causing a shift towards renewable... more The Earth’s supply of traditional energy sources is diminishing causing a shift towards renewable resources. This shift has been slow due to the limited supply and high cost of critical metals including Rare Earth Elements (REEs), Platinum Group Metals (PGMs), and scarce industrial metals. In the foreseeable future, off-world resources will be required to transition fully to renewable energy sources adequate for a reasonable standard of living for all Earth’s inhabitants. Existing data suggests that trillions of dollars of PGMs and REEs might currently exist on the moon posing an excellent financial opportunity if the deposits match earth deposits. The Mining and Acquisition of Valuable Extraterrestrial Resources for Industrial Commercialization (MAVERIC) program entails a commercial lunar outpost and mining venture. The lunar outpost would support 30 crew members to maintain the mining equipment, plus visiting scientists. The lunar equipment will be lifted to LEO, where a commercial station will be located, by a new reusable SSTO. An Aerobraked Orbital Transfer Vehicle (ABOTV) will serve as an upper stage tug to transfer between LEO and LLO. A reusable lander, refueled on the Moon, will then make the transfer from LLO to the lunar surface. A nuclear power plant will provide the large scale power needs of the lunar systems. A reduction reactor LOX plant will be used to provide oxidizer for the lander. The mining equipment will process regolith and asteroid fragments, initially extracting PGMs. Once the infrastructure is in place, volatiles and REEs will be extracted. The mined product will be returned directly to Earth’s surface by means of a lunar surface sling. The program is projected to cost $161.4 billion and return $847.8 billion, including both the commercial LEO station and the mining venture. The program is estimated to start receiving a return on investment 8 years after development starts.
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