Lunar In Situ Resource Utilization of Regolith with Considering Advancements in Rapid Prototyping Technologies (Part 1)

Thank you to the Half-Life Wiki
( http://half-life.wikia.com/wiki/Aperture_Science_Personality_Construct ) 

Can I just open with I love space? I mean, not as much as the personality core in Portal 2 but you konw, I do think its really cool.  The whole metaphor of looking outward upon the frontiers of the human experience to discover what is within, amazing image.  Anyways I'm trying to look slightly more professional in this series of posts so I'm not sure what tone I should put forth in a blog post/pseudo white paper beginnings, well see what evolves. (it's not like I have an official editor to give me grief)

Two of the largest costs associated with space exploration lie in the limited re-usability of rocket launch systems and the direct energy requirements of transferring mass between the gravity wells of our solar system, safely.  Developing material resources on celestial bodies other than the Earth is one of requirements for reducing the capability bottleneck that hinders a greater human presence in space.  In late April of 2012 Planetary Resources made the bold announcement that a for-profit business would be developing the technologies necessary to mine the  asteroids that whip through our solar system.  Resources closer to home did not receive the same level of attention, at least in a serious light, when, then Presidential candidate, Newt Gingrich made his proposal for United States to build a long term Lunar Colony.  (I'm just going to say, I didn't really agree with the Gingrich campaign on much, except for the fact that I really think it would be awesome to have a Lunar base).

Establishing mining operations on the Moon have been the theme of speculative and science fiction for many decades now, with NASA providing a good number of financial and intellectual resources to developing preliminary technologies that might be used by such a facility.  In the 2009 Hugo Award winning film "Moon"  Sam Rockwell's character, Sam Bell (we've got some original names going on here people), spends his days overseeing a massive lunar mining operation, in the process of extracting large volumes of Helium 3 embedded in the regolith, an isotope believed to be the Holy Grail of nuclear fusion energy production.  (please don't take my name remark to indicate that I disliked Moon, it was a brilliant film).  While the implications of fusion technology are extremely appealing as a "one day this will happen" reason for establishing a base or colony on the Lunar surface, there are far more immediate benefits from establishing a mining and manufacturing footprint on the Dark Side of the Moon.

More to follow I just want to head out to the gym and get some dinner Nov 20