Full Description
Former NASA Astronaut Harrison Schmitt advocates a private, investor-based approach to returning humans to the Moon—to extract Helium 3 for energy production, to use the Moon as a platform for science and manufacturing, and to establish permanent human colonies there in a kind of stepping stone community on the way to deeper space. With governments playing a supporting role—just as they have in the development of modern commercial aeronautics and agricultural production—Schmitt believes that a fundamentally private enterprise is the only type of organization capable of sustaining such an effort and, eventually, even making it pay off.
Contents
Apollo: The Legacy.- Energy: The Global Future.- Booster: Moon Rocket Economics.- Fusion: Helium-3 Power Economics.- Resources: Lunar Helium-3 Economics.- Settlement: Helium-3 Production Economics.- Approaches: Organizatonal Options for a Return.- Management: Lessons from Apollo.- NASA: Restructuring for Deep Space.- Investors: The Best Approach.- Law: Space Resources.- Humans: Roles in Space.- Implications.