How the moon’s craters could be concealing a fortune in precious metals

Most of us heard the myth about the moon being made from green cheese when we were younger. Then, disappointingly, we learned that it is actually made from rock and metal.

But now scientists have reignited the debate about what the moon is made of. According to New Scientist, craters on the surface of the moon could be holding over a trillion dollars’ worth of platinum and other precious metals.

They believe these metals have been deposited there by asteroids, and could make the idea of lunar prospecting a reality, one which is much more feasible than attempting to mine the asteroids themselves.

This raises plenty of interesting possibilities, opportunities, and questions. As no one “owns” the moon, who do the metals belong to? With such a fortune at stake, it’s feasible that we could soon be seeing a modern-day space race to get to these resources.

Craters offer up a history of our universe, and contain precious metals from the days of the solar system’s creation

Lunar craters are a fascinating record of our universe’s history, the result of collisions by asteroids, meteoroids, and comets. These collisions happen on Earth, too, but because the moon doesn’t have any atmosphere or liquids, its surface remains fully preserved.

There are millions of craters on the moon. According to Nasa, these are comprised of:

• • Simple craters, which are smooth, bowl-shaped, and around 6 – 9 miles in diameter
  • Complex craters, which have peaks, terraces, and flat floors, and are around 9 miles in diameter
  • Basins, which are believed to have been formed over 3.9 billion years ago. These are huge, over 186 miles in diameter.

The hidden wealth in the moon was discovered by a team in Canada, who were exploring whether precious metals could have been deposited by asteroids hitting the lunar surface.

In particular, they were looking for platinum group metals: platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium, and osmium.

Asteroids and other planetary bodies contain these precious metals due to the processes that formed the solar system. When they collide with the lunar surface, remnants of the metals are left behind.

The research team discovered that of the 1.3 million craters on the moon with a diameter greater than 1 kilometre, almost 6,500 were made by asteroids containing commercial quantities of platinum.

Mining the moon: Ownership, intention, and application are all called into question

The Outer Space Treaty 1967 paved the way for freedom of international space exploration, with a specific mandate that:

• • Any activities are for the benefit of mankind
  • No weapons of mass destruction are placed into orbit
  • There is no national appropriation of outer space.

That means the moon and all its treasures legally belong to everyone and no one.

However, the treaty is unclear about the definition of asteroids and the involvement of private mining, only referring to “celestial bodies” and “national appropriation.” There would also be a big question mark over other areas of governance, such as who owns the final resources, commercial licensing, and equitable benefits sharing.

So, now this potential rich vein of resources has been identified, it could be that nations scramble to unlock the wealth buried in the moon’s craters.

Funding is not generally widely available for astronomy purposes, and is often paid for by taxpayers at a government’s discretion. But a trillion dollars is likely to catch the attention of private enterprises keen to invest.

Mining asteroids might seem the stuff of fantasy. Think Bruce Willis and his team of oil riggers heroically drilling to blow up the killer asteroid about to hit the Earth.

But the reality is that asteroid mining is not completely unfeasible. Indeed, it’s already on the agenda for some tech start-ups. The BBC reports that US company AstroForge believes it will become the first company to mine asteroids for their precious metals.

However, the discovery of the metal deposits in the moon’s craters could be even more exciting, as mining the moon would arguably be easier than mining asteroids. The moon is much more reachable, and has more gravity than asteroids, which should make the job easier.

It would seem unlikely that a trillion dollars’ worth of precious metals will remain untouched, but with so many uncertainties and legal grey areas, mining the moon could still be a way away.

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Please note

This article is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at retail clients only.

All information is correct at the time of writing and is subject to change in the future.