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Comment by pengaru | Hacker News Reader

A massive cache of ore outside of Earth's gravity well seems like it could have far more value in space than its FMV sold here on Earth.

I wonder how many people are running the numbers on cost of hauling chunks back to the moon for lunar projects vs. Earth-supplied, should this discovery be confirmed in 2026.

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Water ice is the most valuable resource in our solar system right now. And will be for a long time to come.

Ok, but how does that affect the value of metal in space for something like a lunar colony?

The moon already has plenty of water ice.

It’s unclear whether the moon has accessible water ice in any usable quantities. It’s likely shadowed polar ice is locked in rocky regolith.

Four days ago: NASA’s SOFIA Discovers Water on Sunlit Surface of Moon https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-sofia-discovers-wa...

Exactly. Rocks containing less than 0.004% water by weight aren’t ice or water or accessible water.

> Water ice is the most valuable resource in our solar system right now. And will be for a long time to come.

Water has no value except in some places devastated by war. The only valuable thing in this universe is oil.

wat? consider the value, in space, of frozen water ice -- as spacecraft propellant and as life-sustaining hydration for astronauts and as a prerequisite for farming...

Other than the fact that we die without it, Id say its right up there as a close second.

People are running and have run the numbers, just not people who are trying to convince other people that space mining will be profitable.

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