Any feasible mining tech we used for it (e.g. robots), if it launched this afternoon, is unlikely to even arrive on target by 2026, much less get a shipment back to earth in the same time frame.

@AndrewHartman The moon?

@ibbi I'll be honest, I'd assumed that wouldn't count, since to a first approximation that seems like it's "on the moon" not "in space." Maybe you should add some clarification to the description?

@AndrewHartman That’s odd i dont have the same intuition, do you also think of GPS satellites as “not in space”?

Thanks, edited the description!

@ibbi I mean, they're in orbit, seems pretty natural. My inclination there is because the moon is a sufficiently massive celestial body to keep you on it by its own gravity. I wouldn't consider Mars' surface to be "in space" either, y'know?