NASA is seeking bids from intrepid space explorers willing to dig up Moon dirt - Calgary Herald

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NASA wants to buy some moon rocks, and it’s seeking out companies to make space mining trips so that it can establish a legal framework for its galactic aspirations.

The agency is soliciting bids from explorers anywhere on Earth who are willing to finance their own trips to the moon and collect soil or rock samples without actually returning the material to earth. The effort is meant to set a legal precedent for mining on the lunar surface that would allow NASA to one day collect ice, helium or other materials useful to colonies on the moon and, eventually, Mars.

It's time for regulatory certainty to extract and trade space resources

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration also wants to demonstrate the potential for “in-situ resource utilization,” or using locally sourced materials for future space missions, it said Thursday. NASA anticipates paying roughly between $15,000 to $25,000 per moon contract, agency Administrator Jim Bridenstine said, though final pricing will be determined by the competition.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine speaks to media during a visit to NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility where engineers are preparing to add the final section to the core stage of the rocket that will power NASA’s Artemis 1 lunar mission, in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., August 15, 2019. Photo by Jonathan Bachman /REUTERS

Activities beyond the earthly plane are currently governed by the United Nations Outer Space Treaty of 1967. Signed by the U.S., it bars extraterrestrial military bases or nuclear weapons and basically requires nations to explore in peace and clean up their own messes.

In particular, the treaty stipulates that outer space isn’t subject to “national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means.” But it doesn’t specifically address space mining.

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2020-09-10 19:39:04Z
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