I’m not sure there’s much for China to mine. Maybe some deuterium? There’s no metal core, no hydrological systems, no vulcanism... They could mine water and get hydrogen fuel I suppose. That’s if they can get there. They’ll really have to steal a lot of stuff from us and the Russians.
The number one potential for making money is ....... tourism.
Well, one of the articles I read gave a list of several things they could mine. I also heard somewhere that the water was necessary for travel to Mars.
I don’t necessarily believe why China says it is doin things. I would imagine the real reason is military as much as anything. Of course they say it is for humanity. LOL.
Don`t know about the Russians, but the U.S. has shown in the past it`s quite willing to hand over whatever delivery system technology the Chinese will want... just as it did during the 1990s in exchange for a $100k donation to the DNC.
All they do is steal or wait for an idiot like Clinton to hand it over.
Thinking one step ahead the moon is the perfect launch place for a trip to Mars. Gravity there is roughly 17% of the Earth. No atmosphere to fight through either. Bigger payload and less fuel. I suspect theres lots more to mine there.
Plenty of energy (sunlight) and water is all that is needed. What you fail to realize is that a moon-base is THE stepping-stone to asteroid mining, which has everything the moon lacks. Kick a couple of nickel-iron and water chunks into lunar orbit (I don't "really" like the idea of putting such chunks in NEA (near-earth-orbit)). Manufacture what can be superiorly controlled in zero-g near the asteroids, and what needs gravity on the lunar surface. Export finished products to earth (after all, "it's all downhill" from there).
"The number one potential for making money is ....... tourism."
NOT!