Space Resources on the Moon and Space Mining (#560)

Authors

Jamanca Lino, Gustavo

Abstract

Space Mining is the greatest challenge of the 21st century. The existence of space resources such as volatiles and oxides, metals, and water discovered in recent years on the Moon, Mars, and Near-Earth Asteroids indicate their grade would reach sufficient levels to supply raw materials for future human settlements in the solar system. Indeed, the materials on the lunar surface could also meet the current demand by the satellites in the Earth's orbit and reduce the costs of launching new flagship missions. Hence, space mining is the key to opening a new age of discovery, scientific exploration, and commerce. Although these topics have been extensively addressed in the last 50 years, technical information is scarce in Spanish for the Hispanic community. This document is based on an extensive systematic review covering 1987 - 2022 and includes maps of main resource distribution. In addition, it includes a high-level analysis of the mining and metallurgical concepts proposed, explaining the operational parameters and engineering challenges that provide a first approach to Latin American engineers and inspire them to be involved in this fascinating research area.