TABLE 7 FUNDAMENTALS $/kWh electricity (31i, 31j, 75, 76). Thus, in principal, low-cost raw materials can be provided to space. Even lower acquisition costs are possible on the moon. We have on Earth acquired an immense resource of technical skills to deal with extracting resources and building things. After all, we built the rocket systems which returned moon dust to Earth for study. The relative number of patents in a given field of technology provides some clue to both the number of people active in the area and the commerical possibilities. There are only a few stacks of U.S. patents in the general area of transportation and industry in space. This is due in part to the present government scale of space programs which traditionally concentrate on a grand mission objective. On the other hand, there are literally rooms of patents in materials recovery, preparation, and production. A lunar program which provided direct or remote access to lunar materials by small innovative groups would tap a large pool of technical skills (not just in the U.S.). 1 he lunar dust has useful elements. Why not use our skills off Earth to make our space efforts easier and more productive? Should we march (fly) out and build big
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