near the moon's poles that could be extracted and turned into fuel to extend lunar missions or to fill up rockets on their way to Mars, per Kawade.The distribution of surface ice at the moon's south , and north poles.We're probably at least a decade away from sending people or robots to mine the surface of the moon, but that doesn't mean people aren't already making money as they lay the groundwork for this business, Kawade said.
Per Rosseau, this model has started to bear fruit. Companies like Blue Origin and SpaceX likely wouldn't exist without NASA's ambition to go to the moon, he argued.You can't have mining on the moon without the proper infrastructure. And those looking to build it are starting to see money coming in. One such payload, the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover or VIPER, is set to be delivered to the south poleAn illustration of NASA's Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover on the surface of the moon., a space-exploration company based in Texas, also won also a $77 million contract from NASA for three payload missions, two of which are set to be delivered this year.