--- title: "Meet the Startup Building Robot Swarms to Mine Ice on the Moon" description: "This startup's plan is to send swarms of smart robots to the surface of a distant moon and planets to extract resources including water ice and minerals." date: "2019-11-04" modified: "2019-11-04" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/smart-robots-swarms-mine-ice-moon" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Moon" - "Space" tags: - "Mining" - "moon" - "robots" - "space resources" - "the digest" --- # Meet the Startup Building Robot Swarms to Mine Ice on the Moon ![This startup's plan is to send swarms of smart robots to the surface of a distant moon and planets to extract resources including water ice and minerals.]() *\Image: OffWorld\* ## Autonomous Mining Robots California startup OffWorld has big plans to make resource mining a reality across the Solar System, [*Space.com* reports](). Its plan is to send swarms of smart robots to the surface of distant moons and planets to extract resources including water, in the form of ice, and minerals. First stop: the Earth's Moon. "They operate in swarms, collaborating together, making decisions on their own," CEO Jim Keravala told *Space.com*. For instance, "they can sense where the minerals and ore exist \[…\] and act accordingly." ## Master Plan According to OffWorld's ["master plan",]() the robots will be small, solar-powered, and capable of acting autonomously. "We have started from the beginning and are currently focusing on developing the first generation of our mining robots for the terrestrial mining sector," reads the plan. While deployment is years out — if the company even makes it to the launch pad — the startup is hoping to teach its robots how to do the dirty work using machine learning. ## Resource Extraction Eventually, OffWorld hopes to have the robots extract ice water on the lunar surface to supply rocket propellant and to support basic construction services for future lunar missions. In the long term, the 26-employee company is eyeing resource extraction on asteroids and on the surface of Mars. "At some point in time — I hope it's before we have our first woman and man on the surface — we will be deploying our lunar variants to the lunar surface," Keravala added. **READ MORE:** [OffWorld's Smart Robots Could Swarm Solar System to Help Astronauts and Settlers]() \[*Space.com*\] **More on mining water:** *[NASA’s Collaborating With Caterpillar on Moon Mining Machines]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()