Weve heard enthusiastic talk of space asteroid mining missions before, but these ambitious plans could be one step closer to becoming a reality after NASA announced that its began accepting applications from private enterprises to fund such missions in return for access to the moons resources.

If theres one thing that weve learned from science fiction, its that financial gain is one of the biggest driving forces behind space exploration. And the moon could potentially inspire the first lunar gold rush for an element known as helium-3, which could one day revolutionize the energy industry.

NASAs project is known as CATALYST (Cargo Transportation and Landing by Soft Touchdown), and will be entirely dependent on private sector financing. The idea is that NASA will work with private companies like Virgin Galactic to develop (relatively) affordable methods of transport to and from the moon. Companies that fund the project could be given first dibs at extracting minerals from the moon, whilst helping to expedite new exploration and science missions on the lunar surface.

The project is NASAs way of getting around never-ending cutbacks in its budget. In the future, the agency is expected to outsource more of its work to commercial entities, in return for its expertise.

Anyone who can return to the moon would stand to make an absolute fortune. Among the valuable minerals scientists believe can be extracted from its surface is helium-3, an element thats incredibly rare on Earth. When combined with deuterium, a so-called heavy hydrogen thats abundant in our oceans, helium-3 becomes a very effective fuel for nuclear fusion that could potentially revolutionize the energy industry, affording us clean energy for very little cost.

One of the biggest proponents of moon mining has been Naveen Jain, the founder of Moon Express, a space company thats also competing for the Google Lunar X Prize and the chance to extract minerals from the lunar surface.

In an interview with Wired.com last year, Jain pointed out that humans already possess the technology and the experience to reach the moon. After all, NASA did just that more than forty years ago now throw in the financial resources of believers like him, and theres little to stop us from returning.

We fight over minerals and fuel here on Earth, said Jain.

All those things are plentiful in space. We must be able to create more of what we need and change to a mindset of abundance rather than one of scarcity.

See more here:

NASA just made moon mining a real possibility

NASA has looked into 3D printing, also called additive manufacturing, to fill its unique requirements for highly customized spacecraft and instrument components. According to the organization, the process offers a compelling alternative to more traditional manufacturing approaches.

"We're not driving the additive manufacturing train, industry is," said Ted Swanson, the assistant chief for technology for the mechanical systems division at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Swanson is the center's point-of-contact for additive manufacturing. "But NASA has the ability to get on-board to leverage it for our unique needs."

Led by NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate, the agency has launched a number of formal programs to prototype new tools for current and future missions using this emerging manufacturing technique. Additive manufacturing involves computer-aided device, or CAD, models and sophisticated printers that literally deposit successive layers of metal, plastic or some other material until they are complete.

Goddard technologists Ted Swanson and Matthew Showalter hold a 3D-printed battery-mounting plate developed specifically for a sounding-rocket mission. The component is the first additive-manufactured device Goddard has flown in space. (Image Credit: NASA)

In addition to the U.S. Air Force, DOE, NIST and NSF, NASA is part of the government team investing in, America Makes, formerly known as the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, a public-private partnership created to transition this exciting technology into mainstream U.S. manufacturing.

America Makes is part of the National Manufacturing Initiative, a forward-leaning effort that recognizes our economy requires an advanced, globally competitive manufacturing sector that invents and makes high-value-added products and leading-edge technologies here in the U.S.

"NASA's work with additive manufacturing should enable us to be smart buyers and help us save time, expense and mass," said LaNetra Tate, the advanced-manufacturing principal investigator for the Space Technology Mission Directorate's Game Changing Development Program. "With additive manufacturing, we have an opportunity to push the envelope on how this technology might be used in zero gravity, how we might ultimately manufacture in space."

As a result of these efforts and others sponsored around the agency, teams of NASA engineers and scientists are investigating how their instruments and missions might benefit from an industry that actually began more than two decades ago, with the introduction of the world's first 3D system.

"This effort really goes beyond one center," said Matt Showalter, who is overseeing Goddard's disparate 3D printing efforts. Showalter believes Goddard technologists and scientists will benefit most from collaborations with others also investigating the technology's benefits. "It's in the national interest to collaborate with other institutions. This is a powerful tool and we need to look at how we can implement it. For us, it's a team effort."

This battery case, created with a material called Polyetherketoneketone, is the first 3D-printed component Goddard has flown. Developed under a university-industry partnership, the part was demonstrated during a sounding-rocket mission testing a thermal-control device developed with R&D funding. (Image Credit: NASA)

Go here to see the original:

NASA joins 3D manufacturing bandwagon

Recurring Slope Lineae appear during warmer weather on Mars and could be a possible indicator of liquid water. NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona

According to the space agency, dark flows, or RSL, are thin markings seen on some slopes on Mars during warmer temperatures. These seasonal lines disappear in the Martian winter and only occur in a few areas of the planet. While the researchers cannot conclusively say the RSL are the result of seasonal liquid water running down Martian slopes during the summer, all the evidence suggests the presence of liquid water.

Lead author Lujendra Ojha, a graduate student at the Georgia Institute of Technology, said in a statement, We still don't have a smoking gun for existence of water in RSL, although we're not sure how this process would take place without water.

Ojhas team observed 13 RSL sites using the MROs Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) instrument and the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera. The researchers discovered iron-containing minerals, with different oxidation states, in the RSL sites with levels that increased during warmer weather.

Any explanation for these seasonal changes in mineral levels requires water, notes NASA. The darkening could be due to moisture or an increase in ferric minerals, iron-containing material with a higher oxidation state than ferrous minerals. The source of these seasonal dark flows may be near-surface water that did not freeze due to the presence of salt.

The CRISM data is mapped over the HiRISE image with purple/pink areas indicating a ferric mineral reading NASA/JPL-Caltech/UA/JHU-APL

RSL vary year-to-year and the next step in finding liquid water on Mars may require forecasting models that can predict wet areas. James Wray, from Georgia Tech, said in a statement, "NASA likes to 'follow the water' in exploring the Red Planet, so we'd like to know in advance when and where it will appear. RSL have rekindled our hope of accessing modern water, but forecasting wet conditions remains a challenge.

Alfred McEwan, from the University of Arizona in Tucson, had previously discovered RSL near the Martian equator. The new research builds off his findings and adds new RSL sites as well as a spectral analysis of these areas. Ojhas spectral analysis of RSL using MROs CRISM instrument will be published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. The observation of candidate RSL sites and the discovery of new RSL sites using the HiRISE camera will be published in the journal Icarus.

Read the original post:

NASA Mars Orbiters Find Strongest Evidence Of Possible Liquid Water In Seasonal Dark Flows [PHOTOS]