Amid the pandemic crisis in the United States, Donald Trump has recently signed an Executive Order allowing the Americans to mine resources on the moon. It also reportedly stated that the country has the right to "explore and use" these resources obtained from outer space.
Included in the Executive Order, signed on April 6, are the claims that the United States does not see "space as a common area" to get resources. Furthermore, the order reportedly specified that the country does not need any permission from international agreements to pursue the plan.
According to Space, the Executive Order is called the "Encouraging International Support for the Recovery and Use of Space Resources." It was revealed that this has been in the works for about a year now before Donald Trump finally made it official.
A senior administration official also reportedly shared that this was "prompted" to fully clarify the country's position in advancing NASA's Artemis program. As added, the Artemis 3 aims to land two astronauts on the moon in 2024.
In a similar report released by Forbes, the two astronauts were described as the future "first moonwalkers in the 21st century." While their visit on the moon's South Pole four years from today will be "brief," this will reportedly be the stepping stone for NASA's Artemis missions in the latter years of the decade.
It will establish a "sustainable lunar presence," the reports added. Accordingly, Donald Trump's Executive Order has become the base of NASA's "grander" plans for future space exploration.
Aside from the apparent lunar presence, BBC Newsroom explained how this will further benefit the Earth. Space journalist Sarah Cruddas reportedly shared that "lunar mining" will also help human space travels to Earth's nearest neighbors. The moon will then become an "intergalactic petrol station" as it has all the necessary resources that a rocket fuel needs, she added.
She also explained that "exploring deeper" and farther from Earth is "essential." The reason being is that space has reportedly a lot of resources that can be very beneficial to Earth.
Speaking to the publication, Benjamin Sovacool then shared that the Earth is already "depleting" its resources because of humans. Hence, Donald Trump's Executive Order for lunar mining will be helpful in "long-term."
He also mentioned that sourcing other resources and materials outside the United States has a lot of complications. Some were even done in "horrible conditions." Therefore, mining resources from the moon "might be easier," he added.
