The Economic Development of the Moon

A Response to Plundering the Moon

Andrew Smith, the author of Moondust: In Search of the Men Who Fell to Earth, recently published a polemic in the British newspaper The Guardian, entitled Plundering the Moon, that argued against the economic development of the Moon. Apparently the idea of mining Helium 3, an isotope found on the Moon but not on the Earth (at least in nature) disturbs Mr. Smith from an environmentalist standpoint. Even a cursory examination of the issue makes one wonder why.

Many scientists assert that Helium 3 would be very useful as a fuel for future fusion power plants. Helium 3 would burn cleanly and with little or no radioactive residue. When the technology to build such fusion reactors is developed, coupled with the ability to mine and transport Helium 3 from the lunar surface, a source of clean, limitless energy would be made available

Other dreams of economically developing the Moon involve mining it for materials to build space based solar power stations, which would beam the energy gathered from the sun to receivers on Earth. The prospect of either Helium 3 fueled fusion or space based solar power or a combination of both replacing fossil fuels should excite people who express concern for the Earth's environment

Not so Andrew Smith. He is not very clear as to why he feels this way. But he does make clear what he wants to happen in the last paragraph of his polemic. "Earth's sister has played a role in teaching us to value our environment: how extraordinary to think that the next giant leap for the environmental movement might be a campaign to stop state-sponsored mining companies chomping her up in glorious privacy, a quarter of a million miles from our ravaged home."

Extraordinary indeed. There is not even any caribou (or life of any kind) on the Moon to serve as an excuse for keeping the lunar surface pristine. When the Moon is economically developed, not one species will be endangered as a result. There are no species inhabiting the Moon nor will there be but for what we humans will bring when we return to stay.