If you believe, we can put a mine on the moon: $47million lunar lander being developed by NASA and Taiwan

The Chung-shan Institute of Science and Technology is currently developing a $47million prospector with NASA to create the world’s first mining expedition on the moon.

Set for launch in the early 2020’s, the Resource Prospector is designed to excavate hydrogen, oxygen and water from the moon.

“Taiwan has an outstanding ability to build electronic components and auxiliary systems for spacecraft, but the nation has had little opportunity to participate in space missions, so it has limited space flight history,” said international program director of Chung-shan Institute of Science and Technology Han Kuo-chang.

The participation in NASA’s Resource Prospector mission might earn Taiwan a ticket into the aerospace industry supply chain.”

The main goal of the mission is to create more affordable and sustainable human exploration into deep space.

“Launching one pound of any material into space costs thousands of dollars. One gallon of water weighs more than eight pounds, so the ability to generate water, air and fuel in space could represent enormous cost savings for future deep-space missions,” said NASA on it’s website.

Read the July issue of Mining Global Magazine!

Be sure to follow @MiningGlobal for news and latest updates.