Titan Mining Rights

Tom

An Old Friend
I wonder who will be the first to set up mining on Titan. The Flammable Moon is concentrated methane. Without the oxygen it can't support combustion. Sounds like a deep system power reserve to me. With Saturn emmitting oxygen looks like we should consider an outpost in the Saturnian system. Didn't Sir Sean Connery do a movie about that...Outpost or Out...something?
 
I'm pretty sure the existing treaties that cover planetary bodies ensure that nobody can claim it. :)
 
Methane is a chemical that may be useful in Terraforming. According to the Wikipedia, Methane deposits in the ocean sediments may be a cause for global warming.
By introducing large amounts of methane to a terraforming project a greenhouse effect might be able to be sped up. With a source of liquified methane so huge it could be possible. Granted it would be a level 1 civilization task but I could be possible.
Send automated mining machinery to the moon to extract and send payloads to orbit. Then a craft would capture the 'pods' and transport them to wherever. As well as scoop pods that scoop the oxygen from around saturn to be transported similarly. An orbiting station could act as a distribution launcher to the project on the body below, using some of the oxygen and methane to power the entrie process.
Hey, it's just an Idea...

With space tourism comming alive in the near future I believe mining rights will be granted as a way of paying for the space expansion. After the 'newness' wears off the tourism trade cannot possible support more than orbital insertions. Someone will want to go to the moon, Someone will want to mine the moon as well as asteriods. Depending what Tempel 1 finds we may be mining comets as well.
As for claims on Titan, I doubt any one corporation will have exclusive rights to it but that could happen. Most likely possession will be the law. The corporation first to set up business on a celestial body will likely control the rights. Sub-companies will form or rights will be sold and the world government will police.
The Archimedes Institute has already started to explore these issues.
More info
 
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