It's no rocket science. Everything is here.

The conveyors were clanking along with the rock falling into ballistic feeder hoppers. These small boulders were crushed, many at a time by endless number of crushers next to each other. Crushed rock required more transporting to huge cylindrical containers each 10 m in height. These were directly fed by these conveyors. In open dumping places, mounds and mounds of waste rocks were piled up. Earthmoving (?) equipment were working on the piles, collecting them and dumping them over the edge into deep craters.

One guy in a green and ivory suit was watching all the action. He was wondering at the scene around him, as he did daily. No noise and no dust. In a place with no atmosphere, the hassles of pollution were for the moment forgotten. The advantages of mining on the moon.

The green and ivory suited guy was shuffling in his space suit. He could see the next rocket getting ready with its cargo of cylindrical containers for its journey to Earth. Vibrating ground and the fire exhaust were indications that it was time. Within moments the rocket was speeding away from the moon towards a blue crescent visible on the horizon. The speeding rocket did not last long on its journey. It just fell to the ground.

“Andy, come down for lunch”, Andy’s mother was yelling up the stairs. Andy just dropped the rocket he was playing with, grabbed Woody and hoisted him onto his shoulders. Buzz Lightyear was stranded on the moon for the moment. The game can wait while Andy finishes his lunch.

Mining on the moon is most appropriate for Toy Story. The matter can be dealt with in animation and fiction, without us seriously giving a thought to Newt Gingrich’s idea. He may be called the “idea candidate”, but billions already go into a space programme without any returns. Back home, the quantity of proved reserves has remained stable over the years. An indication, those advancements in technology has made us to reach for reserves that were previously thought to be non-existent. People are uncertain about peak-oil and are unsure about its occurrence.

The Earth has enough for its need. Let’s not go the Wall-E way.

PS : I love both the Toy Story series and Wall-E.