Galactic mining could become a reality by 2025, with the first facility for such a purpose being planned for construction on the moon, according to Airbus.
"Lunar dust called solar regolith can be used to produce oxygen, metals, alloys and silicon, which will then be used as raw materials in an industrial process," the aerospace company's in-space manufacturing and assembly roadmap owner Christophe Figus told Fastmarkets in an interview on Friday April 9.Christophe Figus, Airbus aerospace company's in-space manufacturing and assembly roadmap owner.And via 3D printing, a final product can be produced layer by layer under computer control. The center of the lunar mining facility will be a regolith-to-oxygen-and-metals convertor, which Airbus dubs the "Roxy reactor.""The facility will be able to produce as much metals and alloys as we want, especially since lunar dust already contains aluminium,...