An artificially colored mosaic constructed from a series of 53 images taken through three spectral filters by Galileo's imaging system as the spacecraft flew over the northern regions of the Moon on 7 December 1992. The colors indicate different materials.A lunar anorthosite rock collected by the Apollo 16 crew from near the crater Descartes
The Moon bears substantial natural resources which could be exploited in the future.[1][2] Potential lunar resources may encompass processable materials such as volatiles and minerals, along with geologic structures such as lava tubes that, together, might enable lunar habitation. The use of resources on the Moon may provide a means of reducing the cost and risk of lunar exploration and beyond.[3][4]
Insights about lunar resources gained from orbit and sample-return missions have greatly enhanced the understanding of the potential for in situ resource utilization (ISRU) at the Moon, but that knowledge is not yet sufficient to fully justify the commitment of large financial resources to implement an ISRU-based campaign.[5] The determination of resource availability will drive the selection of sites for human settlement.[6][7]
^Crawford, Ian (2015). "Lunar Resources: A Review". Progress in Physical Geography. 39 (2): 137–167. arXiv:1410.6865. Bibcode:2015PrPhG..39..137C. doi:10.1177/0309133314567585. S2CID 54904229.
^Extraction of Metals and Oxygen from Lunar Soil. Archived 2021-11-23 at the Wayback Machine Yuhao Lu and Ramana G. Reddy. Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering; The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL. USA. 9 January 2009.
^"Moon and likely initial in situ resource utilization (ISRU) applications." M. Anand, I. A. Crawford, M. Balat-Pichelin, S. Abanades, W. van Westrenen, G. Péraudeau, R. Jaumann, W. Seboldt. Planetary and Space Science; volume 74; issue 1; December 2012, pp: 42—48. doi:10.1016/j.pss.2012.08.012
^NASA In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) Capability Roadmap Final Report. Archived 2020-09-05 at the Wayback Machine Gerald B. Sanders, Michael Duke. May 19, 2005.
^Lunar Resource Prospecting. S. A. Bailey. Lunar ISRU 2019: Developing a New Space Economy Through Lunar Resources and Their Utilization. July 15–17, 2019, Columbia.
^"Lunar Resources: From Finding to Making Demand." D. C. Barker1. Lunar ISRU 2019: Developing a New Space Economy Through Lunar Resources and Their Utilization. July 15–17, 2019, Columbia, Maryland.
^"Landing Site Selection And Effects On Robotic Resource Prospecting Mission Operations." J. L. Heldmann, A. C. Colaprete, R. C. Elphic, and D. R. Andrews. Lunar ISRU 2019: Developing a New Space Economy Through Lunar Resources and Their Utilization. July 15–17, 2019, Columbia, Maryland.
The Moon bears substantial natural resources which could be exploited in the future. Potential lunarresources may encompass processable materials such...
are near the lunar south pole where they will scout for lunarresources, test in situ resource utilization (ISRU) concepts, and perform lunar science to...
for exploitation of lunarresources. The commercialization of the Moon is a contentious issue for national and international lunar regulation and laws...
Lunar water is water that is present on the Moon. Diffuse water molecules in low concentrations can persist at the Moon's sunlit surface, as discovered...
A moonbase, lunar base, or lunar colony is a facility on or below the surface of the Moon, enabling human activity on the Moon. As such, it is different...
Development: 2012-2016. First launch: 2017-2018. The International LunarResources Exploration Concept (ILREC) was a proposed mission architecture under...
same side of the Moon to always face Earth. Because of this, the lunar day and the lunar month are the same length, at 29.5 Earth days. The Moon's gravitational...
landing sites for human visits to the Moon, identifying lunarresources, studying the lunar radiation environment, and providing a 3D map of the Moon's...
Apollo (a reference to the Apollo project). The project's creators, the LunarResources Company, formed the Artemis Society as a non-profit NGO in 1994. They...
A lunar rover or Moon rover is a space exploration vehicle designed to move across the surface of the Moon. The Apollo program's Lunar Roving Vehicle was...
safe use of the natural lunarresources with an equitable sharing by all state parties in the benefits derived from those resources. (Article 11.7) The placement...
surveying lunarresources such as water ice, uranium, helium-3, silicon, and aluminium, and produce a topographic map to help select future lunar landing...
their full funding is unclear: Soviet crewed lunar programs – The Soviet Union had been pursuing a crewed lunar flyby mission using Soyuz 7K-L1 launched aboard...
see if the lunar south pole region has enough sustainable resources to sustain a permanent crewed station. The LRO carries the Diviner Lunar Radiometer...
was Mars Observer, in 1985. Lunar Observer (LO), proposed for a 1997 launch, would have been sent into a long-term lunar orbit at 60 miles above the Moon's...
The Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) is a battery-powered four-wheeled rover used on the Moon in the last three missions of the American Apollo program (15...
Apollo Lunar Module (LM /ˈlɛm/), originally designated the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM), was the lunar lander spacecraft that was flown between lunar orbit...
The Chinese Lunar Exploration Program (CLEP; Chinese: 中国探月工程; pinyin: Zhōngguó Tànyuè Gōngchéng), also known as the Chang'e Project (Chinese: 嫦娥工程; pinyin:...
The International LunarResources Exploration Concept (ILREC) was a proposed mission architecture under President George H. W. Bush's Space Exploration...
Helium-3 List of Apollo lunar sample displays Lunar ice Lunar Receiving Laboratory Lunar regolith simulant LunarresourcesLunar soil Orloff, Richard W...
First Lunar Outpost was a proposal for a crewed lunar mission that would have launched sometime in the 2010s. It was part of George H. W. Bush's Space...
current state, and resources of the Moon. Several articles on the scientific results were published in the journal Science. Lunar Prospector was managed...
The Lunar Gateway, or simply Gateway, is a space station which Artemis program participants plan to assemble in an orbit near the Moon. The Gateway is...
only the landing vehicle needing to be developed. The International LunarResources Exploration Concept was a proposed mission architecture by Kent Joosten...
down to conserve its remaining resources for reentry, forcing the crew to transfer to the LM as a lifeboat. With the lunar landing canceled, mission controllers...
landed their Apollo Lunar Module (LM) on July 20, 1969, and walked on the lunar surface, while Michael Collins remained in lunar orbit in the command...
Lunar soil is the fine fraction of lunar regolith found on the surface of the Moon and contributes to the Moon's tenuous atmosphere. Lunar soil differs...
objectives for Artemis are laying the foundations for the extraction of lunarresources, and eventually making crewed missions to Mars and beyond feasible...
Global Information
