That we are running short of potable water on Earth is no longer a secret. Giving the way our human population is growing there is a good chance of water shortage becoming the reason for our extinction. Researchers hope that the moon will be able to come to our rescue.

There is close to 1.6 billion tonnes of water ice on the poles of the moon. So like the science fiction novel written by Arthur Clarke, if we can get that water to earth, there will be a major reprieve. An additional incentive for the more commercial parts of the human race is that where there is ice, there is usually fuel.

So perhaps mining on the moon may provide us with more fossil fuels.  Shackleton Energy Company (SEC) from Texas has plans to mine the vast reserves of water ice. SEC will convert it into rocket propellant in the form of hydrogen and oxygen, and then sell it to space partners in low Earth orbit.

This will be at a significantly lower price than fuel brought up from Earth. A science project which would no doubt seem lucrative to the owners of the company. “All interested parties agree that the Moon — one step from Earth — is the essential first toehold for humankind’s diaspora to the stars,” says science writer Richard Corfield.