Mining Away on the Moon Using Rockets

 Mining. When you hear that word, what comes to mind. You may think of Minecraft, the block-style game in which players mine for ores to help them explore the expansive world. You may think of bitcoin mining, in which multiple extremely powerful computers solve intensive algorithms to get bitcoins. However, most people think of mining for expensive resources like gold, diamonds, minerals, and metals. The mining industry in the United States is huge. In fact, in 2017 alone, mining and mineral commodities accounted for 15% of the United States’ total GDP, which is roughly $2.9 trillion. The industry is huge and can be pretty lucrative, but it can also help mine for valuable resources. For example, there are multiple mines that make it easier for people to have access to water, which is one of the most important resources in the world. These mines are very important, as they support the lives of many people and we may soon be seeing these types of mines on the Moon to mine water for the Artemis Program.

Render of Rocket Mining System

As mentioned before, water is an extremely important resource for people. For starters, we need water to survive. Without water, there is no life. Secondly, water can be used to create rocket fuel. Water ice can be broken into hydrogen and oxygen, which are key components of rocket fuel. On the moon, there are traces of ice water in craters, which scientists and engineers hope to mine to eventually use to support lunar colonies. Currently, three companies - Masten Space Systems, Lunar Outpost, and Honeybee Robotics - are working together to develop a solution for this, but instead of using traditional tools, these companies are deciding to use rockets.

Potential Landing Site of Rocket Mining System

In November 2020, NASA announced the “Break the Ice Lunar Challenge”, a contest in which contestants design a system for excavating and delivering icy regoliths on the Moon. Currently, the first stage of the challenge is going on but is going to end on August 13. One of the teams that are competing in this challenge is the Masten-Lunar Outpost-Honeybee Robotics team, which will be using rockets to mine water ice. The team’s design for the challenge is a rocket engine attached to an 800 kg rover. The rover would maneuver to craters or any other sites with water ice. Then, the rocket engine would fire to blast dirt and gravel into a vacuum-like device to separate it from particles of ice water. The system is projected to mine up to 12 craters a day and produce 100 kg of ice per crater, which is about 420,000 kg of lunar water per year! Lunar Outpost would provide the Rocket Mining System's rover, and Honeybee Robotics' PlanetVac tech would form the core of the ice-handling system. 

If NASA picks this project, it will likely fly aboard a Masten lunar lander. Already, the company’s first mission to the lunar surface is scheduled for 2023 and will fly aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. The mission will carry other payloads as well, including 8 experiments for NASA. These missions will all contribute to the Artemis program, which at the pace it is going at right now looks to be on schedule.

Rocket Mining System Using Rocket to Collect Ice Particles

Sources:

“Home.” NASA's Break the Ice Lunar Challenge, 9 Apr. 2021, breaktheicechallenge.com/. 

“Mission Scenario.” NASA's Break the Ice Lunar Challenge, 18 Nov. 2020, breaktheicechallenge.com/mission-scenario/. 

National Mining Association. NMA, 2018, The Economic Contributions of U.S. Mining (2017 Update). 

Wall, Mike. “Space Miners May Use Rockets to Harvest the Moon's Water Ice (Video).” Space.com, Space, 2 July 2021, www.space.com/rockets-may-mine-moon-water-ice.