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The Silicon Valley Heavyweights Who Want to Settle the Moon

15 points by spking 7y ago

cjlars 7y ago
Though now forgotten, much of the early european settlements in the Americas came from a sort of proto venture capital. Both Jamestown and the Mayflower for example, were private ventures with the intent of turning a profit. Of course many details remain to be filled in. While they sought gold, it's not clear that any riches will be found on the moon.
Ancalagon 7y ago
> "The picture that emerged out of those meetings was that you could create a permanent, economically self-sustaining presence on the moon that could be done for the single-digit billions," said Steve Jurvetson, a venture capitalist, who provided the initial Open Lunar funding. Exactly how will this be economically self-sustaining? I don't think the stuff of moon-rocks is particularly valuable, other than to collectors and scientists. Presumable a moon colony would have difficulty just creating enough food for its populace, so I can't imagine it would have the capability to become self-sustaining. Maybe everyone becomes remote software engineers working for companies on Earth, and those companies send supplies in return?
- avmich 7y ago
  Nobody (*) can imagine the vast market of construction materials and rocket fuel in refueling station on Earth orbit. That is, until some enterprising souls would invest and create some, and rise the hype enough to start building satellites and stations which would take advantage of that - after all, fuel and construction materials are the biggest parts by mass, and mass lifted from Earth costs pretty penny. The trick with pioneers is that they carry oxygen from the Moon, as well as titanium and aluminum - and that's the killer feature, allowing to drop prices safely below the abilities of Earth-based enterprises. Of course the profits are in part reinvested into growing the Moon base - which would be better called Moon settlement then.
- Jack000 7y ago
  the really obvious idea is lunar tourism. "literally the experience of a lifetime! see the Neil Armstrong footprint, eagle lander and more. Bring home lunar rocks as suveniers" then you'll have demand for all the other parts of a tourist economy, like hotels and restaurants.
aussiegreenie 7y ago
Please, please, please go as fast as possible. The quicker we get rid of the "tech bros" the better the world will be.
- travisporter 7y ago
  I initially approached the article with skepticism but there are mostly non tech members. “The reality, though, has been that Silicon Valley’s idealism often gets overrun by greed and ambition. Still, many of the people behind Open Lunar have built up reputations as some of the most deliberate thinkers around space exploration.”
- avmich 7y ago
  They once tried to get rid of a certain PayPal mafia member. He decided to foolishly burn the cash on building rockets; everybody knows how sure this way is to part with funds. Guess he lost the last money and nobody can remember his name anymore. At least the world can breathe with relief :) .

15 points by spking 7y ago

Though now forgotten, much of the early european settlements in the Americas came from a sort of proto venture capital. Both Jamestown and the Mayflower for example, were private ventures with the intent of turning a profit. Of course many details remain to be filled in. While they sought gold, it's not clear that any riches will be found on the moon.

Ancalagon 7y ago

> "The picture that emerged out of those meetings was that you could create a permanent, economically self-sustaining presence on the moon that could be done for the single-digit billions," said Steve Jurvetson, a venture capitalist, who provided the initial Open Lunar funding. Exactly how will this be economically self-sustaining? I don't think the stuff of moon-rocks is particularly valuable, other than to collectors and scientists. Presumable a moon colony would have difficulty just creating enough food for its populace, so I can't imagine it would have the capability to become self-sustaining. Maybe everyone becomes remote software engineers working for companies on Earth, and those companies send supplies in return?

avmich 7y ago
Nobody (*) can imagine the vast market of construction materials and rocket fuel in refueling station on Earth orbit. That is, until some enterprising souls would invest and create some, and rise the hype enough to start building satellites and stations which would take advantage of that - after all, fuel and construction materials are the biggest parts by mass, and mass lifted from Earth costs pretty penny. The trick with pioneers is that they carry oxygen from the Moon, as well as titanium and aluminum - and that's the killer feature, allowing to drop prices safely below the abilities of Earth-based enterprises. Of course the profits are in part reinvested into growing the Moon base - which would be better called Moon settlement then.
Jack000 7y ago
the really obvious idea is lunar tourism. "literally the experience of a lifetime! see the Neil Armstrong footprint, eagle lander and more. Bring home lunar rocks as suveniers" then you'll have demand for all the other parts of a tourist economy, like hotels and restaurants.

aussiegreenie 7y ago

Please, please, please go as fast as possible. The quicker we get rid of the "tech bros" the better the world will be.

travisporter 7y ago
I initially approached the article with skepticism but there are mostly non tech members. “The reality, though, has been that Silicon Valley’s idealism often gets overrun by greed and ambition. Still, many of the people behind Open Lunar have built up reputations as some of the most deliberate thinkers around space exploration.”
avmich 7y ago
They once tried to get rid of a certain PayPal mafia member. He decided to foolishly burn the cash on building rockets; everybody knows how sure this way is to part with funds. Guess he lost the last money and nobody can remember his name anymore. At least the world can breathe with relief :) .