In the 5th Avenue Lego store in Manhattan, in the back toward the stairs going to the second level, there’s a small gray brick spinning lethargically on a thin pedestal.
NASA aims to set up a long-term human presence on the Moon, but maintaining a habitat on the surface will require some innovative infrastructure. To one day transport cargo across the dusty, cratered landscape, NASA is considering a magnetic levitation railway system.
Scientists scrutinizing the fine dust covering the Moon have identified a handful of boulders on the lunar surface that they believe may be covered with uniquely magnetized dust.
The new era of space exploration is opening entirely new possibilities, including the tantalizing prospect of mining for resources on the Moon and asteroids. Sounds exciting—and potentially very profitable—but the reality of the situation is that space mining is completely uncharted territory. Plenty of prospecting…