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NASA Just Cut a 10-Cent Check to Kick-Start Moon Mining Tech

posted by martyb on Tuesday August 31 2021, @03:51AM   Printer-friendly
from the last-of-the-big-spenders dept.

upstart writes:

NASA just cut a 10-cent check to kick-start moon mining tech:

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson presented Justin Cyrus, CEO of Colorado-based space startup Lunar Outpost, with the first payment ever issued to a company as part of a space resource contract announced Aug. 23 here at the 36th annual Space Symposium. The check, which was just 10 cents, or 10 percent of Lunar Outpost's $1 bid, and will go towards the company's efforts to collect lunar dust, or regolith, for the agency.

"We had contractual terms with them when they produce their first element. We would give them 10% of their contract award. I am happy to present a check for 10% of their bid. Justin, here's a check for 10 cents," Nelson said.

[...] "This sets a legal and procedural framework that will be utilized for generations and decades to come for companies like ours and many others to go out and collect resources from the lunar surface from other planetary bodies and make them basically useful for humanity," Cyrus said.

[...] Now, as part of this contract, the company will "collect a small amount of moon dust, verify the collection and transfer the ownership of that lunar regolith," Nelson said.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 01 2021, @10:01AM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 01 2021, @10:01AM (#1173207)

    How about, "Because the economy is complicated" or "It steam engines when it's steam engine time"
    Right now we at James Watt pissing about and improving steam engines. Railroads develop where there are customers. Customers develop where ther are railways.
    The whole shebang develops together, asking for a specific 'product' that makes space development economical is juvenile.

  • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Thursday September 02 2021, @07:09AM (1 child)

    by FatPhil (863) <{pc-soylent} {at} {asdf.fi}> on Thursday September 02 2021, @07:09AM (#1173594) Homepage
    Complete bollocks. Presently we're at about 10^-9 of the capabilities/capacities neccessary for the task claimed (possibly 10^-12, but what's a factor of a thousand beteen friends). Watt was at 10% of the capabilities/capacities we are now. There's simply no comparison between the small shuffle forward we've made in that field and the unimaginable leap necessary in the space transportation field.
    --
    Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 04 2021, @11:44AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 04 2021, @11:44AM (#1174429)

      Interesting. It looks like there are about 50,000 locomotives worldwide. Ol' James must have had quite the train set to have 5000 all on his own.