The data shows that if successfully continued for several years, this idea would likely be the ultimate offset for all harmful greenhouse gases. In reality, however, it is a serious attempt to place hope in moon mining to help us meet our climate goals.
Given that we haven’t set foot on the moon in over 50 years, it’s optimistic to imagine terraformed facilities with giant L1-calibrated dust cannons.
China wants to build an offworld nuclear base here by 2028, and the United States by 2034. I bet neither of them is interested in raising the unthinkable amounts of finance and resources needed to even have a chance at it.
While this was a significant milestone that the agencies wanted to aim for, we didn’t even address the logistical hurdles or geopolitical considerations. The lists for both are truly endless.
A patchwork of conflicting policies from the 1970s prohibit nations from confiscating the moon’s resources as their legal property. Meanwhile, a non-binding international agreement – dubbed the Artemis Accords – suggests that commercial resource mining is a huge opportunity.
As we speak, there are those who plan space exploration within a certain framework, while people like China and Russia have decided to do it alone. Space has become prime real estate and everyone aspires to capitalize on it.
Given the magnitude of the political divisions we face on Earth, Earth politics is an afterthought at best.
To their credit, the research team admits they are not experts on climate change and are just testing new ideas. As fun as that notion is, we probably shouldn’t be looking at the stars for solutions to climate change anytime soon.