NASA planning to have oxygen, water resources on the moon by 2032

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – With a view to expanding space exploration and achieving a long-term presence on the moon, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is working to develop vital oxygen and water resources on the moon within the next decade, the Jerusalem Post reports.

The NASA mission is predominantly concerned with providing advancing commercial opportunities in space, JPost reports. In a statement, NASA rocket scientist Gerald Sanders said gaining access to resources on the moon, including also iron, rare earths, and energy would be necessary to cut costs and develop a circular economy.

“We are trying to invest in the exploration phase, understand the resources… to (lower) risk such that external investment makes sense that could lead to development and production,” Sanders told a mining conference in Brisbane. We are literally just scratching the surface.”

NASA will shortly dispatch a test drill rig to the moon, JPost reports. NASA is also planning a wider excavation of moon soil, or regolith, and to develop a pilot processing plant in 2032.

The first customers are expected to be commercial rocket companies that could use the moon’s resources for oxygen and fuel, JPost said.

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