Frogmarsh t1_itdtght wrote
What economic return are they securing here? I don’t see what is being gained commercially and find it weird that it isn’t described in the article.
YaAbsolyutnoNikto t1_itffcsj wrote
Due to the lower gravitational pull of the moon compared to earth, launching rockets there consumes a lot less energy.
In other words, it is cheaper and easier to have rockets flying around. It also means that rockets can carry more cargo for the same amount of fuel.
So, this all means that mining for resources in asteroids, planets, etc. can be much more easily done.
This is great because we do need resources. Some of them are scarce on earth. Others require us to destroy ecosystems to get them (like diamonds, lithium, etc.).
anglesideside1 t1_itg1vtw wrote
If this is the best reason, then how do I short this company? Are they publicly traded?
YaAbsolyutnoNikto t1_itg6d51 wrote
No idea. But they’re not the only ones.
As far as I know, spacex and a company in luxembourg are also working on it.
Anyway, why would you want to short it?
anglesideside1 t1_itg784e wrote
Seems like a money pit, and until there’s an actual hard cost imposed to destroying ecosystems (I’m not talking about socialized costs associated with climate change), then it’ll be cheaper to mine whatever minerals here.
dantemp t1_itk9o4y wrote
Asteroid mining will definitely become a major industry. The question isn't if, the question is when. You might be right that the first few attempt fail but only because we'd have to work out the kinks, not because having an infinite resource that nobody has a claim on is a bad idea.
TheMouseUGaveACookie t1_itgyfog wrote
I agree. Reminds me of the NFT real estate market…will they start selling ownership of little trinkets that are sent to/dropped on the moon? lol
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