AssetID: 52873533
Headline: UNCAPTIONED: NASA's Lunar Mining Operation Could Launch Within the Next Decade
Caption: NASA's Lunar Mining Operation Could Launch Within the Next Decade. 'The Independent' reports that a NASA scientist has claimed that the United States will begin mining the Moon for resources within the next decade. According to NASA's Gerald Sanders, the space agency's pilot processing plant will first seek to procure oxygen and water. At a June 28 mining conference in Brisbane, Sanders said that NASA's mining mission can begin as soon as a test drill rig is sent to the Moon. Sanders claims that current NASA estimates suggest “hundreds of billions of dollars worth of untapped resources” are on the Moon. As the lunar mining operation expands, iron and other elements could become valuable resources. 'The Independent' reports that NASA is hoping that the promise of lunar mining will attract commercial interest, which will reduce costs. "We are trying to invest in the exploration phase, understand the resources... to [lower] risk such that external investment makes sense that could lead to development and production." "We are literally just scratching the surface.", Gerald Sanders, NASA's Johnson Space Center, via 'The Independent'. Earlier this year, NASA reached a number of milestones in the race to mine the Moon, including the extraction of oxygen from simulated lunar soil for the first time. THIS VIDEO MUST NOT BE EDITED FOR LENGTH TO COMBINE WITH OTHER CONTENT
Keywords: NASA,lunar mining,space,moon,mining,digging,could,launch,next decade,next ten years,science,discovery,technology,United States,America,life on the moon,oxygen,water,platn
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