Space Resources

Space resource utilization, is emphasized in this plan for space activities in a 1990-2035 time frame. In the baseline scenario, a space station in low Earth orbit (LEO) is established in the early 1990s. This space station plays a major role in staging advanced missions to the Moon, beginning about 2005, and in exploring near-Earth asteroids, beginning about the same time. These exploration activities lead to the establishment of a lunar camp and base which produce oxygen and possibly hydrogen for rocket propellant. Automated missions to near-Earth asteroids begin mining these bodies by about 2015, producing water and metals which are returned to geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO), LEO, lunar orbit, and the lunar surface. Oxygen, hydrogen, and metals derived from the Moon and the near-Earth asteroids are then used to fuel space operations in Earth-Moon space and to build additional space platforms and stations and lunar base facilities. These space resources are also used as fuel and materials for manned Mars missions beginning in 2021. This scenario might initially cost more than the baseline scenario because it takes large investments to put together the facilities necessary to extract and refine space resources. However, this plan has the potential to significantly lower the cost of space operations in the long run by providing from space much of the mass needed for space operations.