How NASA's Odysseus Mission Is Kicking Off a Lunar Land Grab
The US returns to the Moon, driven by profit as much as science. NASA and private companies seek valuable minerals and a path to Mars. A lunar base could become a cosmic factory, a new frontier in the space race fueled by both competition and collaboration.
The moon, our steady celestial companion, has shone the same silvery light down on Earth for eons. But its familiar face hides a treasure trove – the seeds of a new era of space exploration and a potential bonanza of resources that could revolutionize technology back on Earth.
This is the vision behind the Odysseus mission, a collaboration between NASA and the private space company Intuitive Machines. Their goal is audacious: to set up a lunar base camp. They want a permanent scientific outpost for studying the solar system, but more importantly, they want to claim a stake in the vast mineral wealth and precious resources of our enigmatic neighbor.
