--- title: "Experts Warn Against Strip Mining the Moon" description: "As humans barrel ever closer to colonizing the Moon, the prospect of lunar mining is also becoming more real." date: "2024-01-09" modified: "2024-01-09" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/experts-against-moon-mining" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Moon" - "Space" tags: - "lunar mining" - "moon base" - "space law" - "the digest" --- # Experts Warn Against Strip Mining the Moon ![As humans barrel ever closer to colonizing the Moon, the prospect of lunar mining is also becoming more real.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Mine Not As humans barrel ever closer to [colonizing the Moon](), the prospect of lunar mining is also becoming more real — and the consequences just might be dire. In [interviews with *The Guardian*](), astronomers raised alarm bells about the coming rush to mine the Moon as the [NASA-funded Peregrine lander](), sent out by the private spaceflight company Astrobotic, was slated to survey the lunar surface (side note: it [ran into trouble]() shortly after launch.) Those experts make a straightforward point: the more development occurs on the Moon, be it for habitats or resources taken back to Earth, the less scientists can use our planet's natural satellite for study. "We are not trying to block the building of lunar bases," University of Arizona astronomer Richard Green told the *Guardian*. "However, there are only a handful of promising sites there and some of these are incredibly precious scientifically." Take, for example, the Moon's deep craters that have [never seen sunlight](). "They are unbelievably cold — probably only a few dozen degrees above absolute zero," Green added. "And that makes them scientifically very valuable." ## Legal Measures Naturally, this sort of academic warning flies in the face of humankind's insatiable hunger for profit. That's why a [working group]() headed up by Green is set to meet with the United Nations later this month to discuss the strengthening of space laws that could prohibit a potential lunar gold rush from becoming too much of a frenzy. Despite massive advancements in spacefaring over the past few decades, there haven't been too many updates to space law since the 1967 passage of the [Outer Space Treaty](), which prevents any one country from laying claim to a celestial body. In 1979, the [UN introduced a Moon Treaty]() demanding that the Moon and other bodies "should be used exclusively for peaceful purposes, that their environments should not be disrupted." It's not a stretch to suggest that those laws are in serious need of upgrade. On the flip side, the prospect of mining the Moon's troves of "[rare Earth minerals]()" used to create smartphones and other consumer tech has [long tantalized]() [business types]() and [scientists alike](). Indeed, Peregrine is but the first in a series of planned [public]() and [private]() lunar missions slated for this year alone, all of which are intent not only on scientific advancements but also on figuring out which parts of the Moon will be best for drilling and setting up bases. While lunar habitats may well become part of humankind's survival strategy as we become an interplanetary species, some of that tiny, barren sphere must be preserved for science — if not for the sake of those who will live on it. "We need to act now," Martin Elvis, an astrophysicist affiliated with both Harvard and the Smithsonian, told *The Guardian*, "because decisions made today will set the tone for our future behavior on the Moon." **More on the Moon:** [*Chinese Spacecraft That Smashed Into Moon Was Carrying Something Mysterious, Scientists Say*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()