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Lunar and planetary mining technology
Article By:
Rostami, Jamal Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania.
Gertsch, Leslie Rock Mechanics and Explosives Research Center and the Department of Geological Science and Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, Missouri.
Last reviewed:2010
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.YB100131
Sustained human life and activities rely on a wide variety of minerals and rocks as fuel and raw material for production of goods. Mining and processing methods have evolved through millennia of human experience with terrestrial deposits. If a Moon base is established to learn more about the lunar environment and the Solar System, to prepare for Mars missions, to intercept the asteroids, and to launch deep-space missions, materials will need to be mined from the local environment, for example, to provide water and probably air.
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