Commercial Space Radiation Solutions for Lunar Mining

Radiation is a continuing long-term travel/work problem for recovering space resources beyond Earth. Valuable commercially recoverable lunar resources exist. Needed are doable mining equipment, commercial mining consortium investment, an affordable trade route, stronger NASA commercial assistance and reduced crew costs before miners reach their lifetime radiation limits. Mankind evolved within Earth’s radiation protective environment, that space does not have. Lunar commercial industries appear feasible with commercial aerospace technology discussed briefly, but radiation exposure protection must improve for realistic miners durations. Proposed solutions include underground living and working low radiation habitats with no radiation off duty. Prudhoe Bay teaches innovative Earth solutions, but mankind must innovate on commercial lunar solutions for expanded crew times. Proposed are multiple use facilities first for miners, then tourists, then permanent residents, then the retired, to start local lunar surface economies. These long-term facilities use surface lava locations near 700-mile diameter craters to tunnel and develop evolving habitats with multiple owners for long term use. Commerce can use high value resources to build evolving multiple use lunar economies, develop trade route technology, bring down costs with commerce and evolve permanent habitats. The author’s 1975-79 years at Prudhoe Bay were surprising partly, because busloads of tourists would spend a lot, because they are more curious than society realizes. Helium3 can be worth $6 to 15B/ton on Earth in the future energy industry without nuclear radiation or new grids and sells for $16k/gram today. Proposed is an evolving habitat underground built within surface lava to house resource crews and evolves into permanent, environment controlled growing settlements using the tunnel excavation, long term ECLSS, greenhouses to span three future owners and taking advantage of extended periods of living under sufficient mass of crater mountains. Lunar mining can be profitable, but not fully robotic on commercial ventures beyond Earth.