How will you watch Netflix on the Moon?

Today marks the 48th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing. Many nations are discussing a return to the Moon, from the US to China, India and the European Space Agency. Yet, why only nation states and space agencies? Teams from the Google Lunar X Prize are preparing to launch to compete and win the prize, replicating what only government missions have accomplished to date. Is the time ripe now for an even greater step? Is a private settlement on the Moon a possibility?

The International Institute of Space Commerce (IISC), the world’s leading open source think tank on the economics and commerce of space, is announcing its Lunar Economic Action Plan (LEAP) initiative to address this very question.

Think of it as a Business Plan for the Moon.

The Institute has brought together experts in their fields from around the world from a range of leading companies, professionals, authors, academics, and astronauts involved in the day to day business of space commerce. All believe it is possible, maybe even perhaps inevitable in this age of declining government budgets and exponentially more cost-effective access to space, that we will see private settlements on the Moon. Is the financial equation right now for commerce on the Moon?

A new paper will be released every week leading to a workshop for LEAP to be held in in association with the law firm of Reed Smith Washington DC in October in conjunction with the 6th Annual Space & Satellite Law Colloquium. The goal of the workshop is a working plan of the commerce behind a private settlement on the Moon.

The first paper in the series is from Madhu Thangavelu of the University of Southern California (USC), Space Projects Director of the Cal-Earth Institute on MOBIUS: An Evolutionary Strategy for Lunar Tourism.

Rob Alexander, Executive Director of the IISC, said, “The International Institute of Space Commerce is in a unique position to serve the whole space sector with its wealth of knowledge. The Lunar Economic Action Plan is going to demonstrate how close we are to actually making our post-Apollo ambitions into reality. We are seeing the dawn of the age where commerce is driving the development of space efforts, just as much as just national interests. After all, we must never forget that 100% of the money spent in space isn’t, it’s spent here on Earth boosting our all our economies. Our LEAP papers, coming from around the globe, we hope, will change the perception of what we believe is truly feasible today. We have the technology, now we just need the business plan. After all, how will we watch Netflix on the Moon?”

The first LEAP paper can be viewed at http://iisc.im/portfolio-items/mobius-an-evolutionary-strategy-for-lunar-tourism/ 

Image - Courtesy of James Vaughan.