Spaceport Associates

Commercial Development of the Moon

Derek Webber, as an official judge of the Google Lunar XPRIZE, gives a TED Talk in Budapest, June 2014, emphasizing the ultimate need for space settlements, and the need to protect the heritage sites.

Lunar Commerce book cover — Book published by Springer Books in early 2024.

Lunar Commerce Portfolio book cover — The Lunar Commerce Portfolio – launched in November 2022 at the MVA workshop and Symposium in Los Angeles, California.

Spaceport Associates Founder Derek Webber (right), as Vice Chair of judging of the Google Lunar XPRIZE, discussing the lunar lander qualification model with Dr P.S. Nair, Team Indus Structures Lead, in Bangalore, October 2017. This spacecraft is now the basis of the Orbit Beyond lander, awarded $97m under the NASA CLPS initiative announced May 2019.

Spaceport Associates developed policy, and advocates for commercial space and space exploration, leading to space resource capture and eventual space settlement. The Founder, Derek Webber, was Vice Chair of the international judging panel for the Google Lunar XPRIZE competition – aimed at developing capabilities for private commercial access to the Lunar surface. In that capacity, Webber was responsible for steps taken to protect Lunar Heritage sites during the competition, and subsequently took a leadership position in the organization “For All Moonkind” which aims to provide an international regulatory basis for such protections. Derek Webber gave a TED Talk in Budapest to emphasize why and how this should be done, see the following link, and the photo of his combined talk on Google Lunar XPRIZE and Lunar Heritage Protection at the Royal Aeronautical Society in London, October 2018. The concept of protection of the lunar legacy sites has now been accepted, taken up, and included in the NASA Artemis Accords as Section 9. Recent activities focus on Lunar surface habitation and development, through involvement in Working Groups of the Vienna-based U.N.-related organization The Moon Village Association (MVA). In particular, Webber led the Working Group on Lunar Commerce and Economics, which produced the milestone document and model "The Lunar Commerce Portfolio."

Commercial development of the Moon will involve eventually establishing a regulatory agency for the Moon, with jurisdiction over such matters as:

Safety Zones and Interference Protection
Heritage Sites Protection
Registry of Locations and Activities
Infrastructure and Support Services (eg Rescue)
Best Practices for Sustainability and Safety
Sharing of Finite Resources, eg water, power during lunar night

In addition, there needs to be development work associated with establishing the various anticipated Moon business markets, such as lunar space tourism, resource processing, manufacture, production, construction, power generation, landing zone operations, etc.