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I have seen proposals for similar. The plan is to have a Lunar Library which apart from storing genes would also hold all that man had so far learned electronically.

Basically a library of Alexandria set in a place where it would not burn. The library would pay for its self by being a record holder for buisness which would want to store digital information permanently and safely.

Ah but in the case of the Moon treaty there is very few states that have not ratified it and those are so small it really does not matter. The Moon treaty and its legal standings can rightfully be said to be applied to all countries.

But it was a treaty designed to stop a land grab race between the USSR and the USA which could have lead to real tensions and the other parts like a spaceship remains the property of the country that launched it and free access to any space endeavour are just to stop potential trouble. But for private access and use it is a big hindrance and pretty much is putting a stop to any real plans. As those companies and private organisations will simply be treated under the treaty as extensions of that country and therefore requiring to obey the treaty.

But unfortunatly in the Moon treaty it clearly states that a country takes responsibility for any flight that is launched by citizens of that country. And that means that the treaty so applies too those people. So frankly unless the Moon treaties very negative sections that deal with owning extra terrestial property are dealt with there is no chance under international law that we will get away with declaring ownership of any property or right to utilise those resources for anyhting except exploration and aiding in such.

I always Knew I liked Mars now I have a reason.

I live in Britains fastest growing and could well be Europe's city it is called Inverness. But what should be noted about Rod Liddle is two things 1) That he is a comedian first and a journalist second. He has I believed lived in London most of his life and though commented for a Welsh paper never actually left London to do it. Im also sure he has never been to Inverness and im also sure that he probably never thought about Mars until he had to do an article and decided lets poke fun at these strange Martian enthusiasts. And 2) Mr Riddle is one really anti anyhting person and has been sacked from both the Times and BBC for his tripe that he writes or speaks. I suspect that having sent him a letter of protest would have just ended in the Bin as Im sure he gets a lot or used too when he had a job and since he just got chucked out of his marital home as he was cheating on his wife. Who really cares about him.

One of the most destructive treaties to what we could have called a frontier was "the law of the sea". This treaty destroyed undersea mining and pretty much put to a stop the grand plans for cities under the sea or any big advance in manned prescence in the Oceans.

It did this by simple means.

The UN is in charge of the oceans period any company must pay the UN a fee to be able to operate on the ocean floor. And in the future this will also include large vessels crossing the Ocean.

Any country that has a shore in which you operate is entitled to a share of what you gain from the sea shore. And no country may claim resources that are 200 metres below the surface and all resources are the heritage of mankind. What this basically means is dont touch unless you can afford to pay the fees and you really desperatly need those resources.

Why do I tell this as it is basically how the UN and many nations amongst it want us to treat space. Any law of space and the outer space treaty is just such an example of a great hindrance to space utilisation.

First thing is self sufficiency cannot be done with a crew of 6, But using resources gained make the whole job of sending crews a lot easier for mission designers. To get the best from such a resource simply tent it over and push the ash out of the way. But if we discover Iron rich deposits on the first missions it will not really matter until we do send the colonists who will use these materials. Iron deposits are structural materials and as such really needed when construction is done. But not for the first exploration missions.

Still we have plenty of CO2 and from that we can create Iron Carbonylls and use that to create any shape of pure Iron we want.

Hah Hah, I kind of thought it was appropiate, given these troubled times.

In 1899 a society of  susposed religous origin started to attack and kill foreigners and christians in China. The society was called the boxers by us though there true name was rather convuluted, The fists of righteous harmony. They truly where doing unspeakable acts to terrify the population into there way of thinking. It culminated in a siege of what was called the legations in Beijing, though technically not supported by the reigning monarch they where given chinese army weapons and advice. The legations managed to hold off over 20000 boxers who wished to rip them apart and suffered bombardment by heavy artillery in hastily made up defences

Why was it appropiate well a coalition of nations sent there troops and lead by the USA to break the siege and restore order and freedom to China. They succeeded even when the Imperial army actually dropped its neutrality and openly attacked the coalition.

August the 14th was when beijing fell and the legations where saved and incidentally the Ching dynasty lost most of its power. So starting the way that China is lead today.

I believe the Important thing if we want to have major industrial and infrastructure in space is to have a workable and fair treaty that allows use of resources and defensibly legal property claims or rights to free use of such.

If we involve the UN it will simply increase the red tape that any pioneering country will have to face to be able to use and utilise the materials found in space. Or worse it simply becomes a free for all with no country giving any regard to any other country. And it comes down to gunboat diplomacy.

But if we can reduce costs to orbit then so all other prices for space come down and that is why we are looking at spaceplanes. They might not be able to launch anything like the cargo that a medium to heavy lift rocket can do but they can send there cargoes up a lot lot cheaper simply through constant reuse.

It only takes a real good incentive for a country to develop spaceplanes and at the moment there is not one. But this can change.

Im actually half Danish and my Grandparents on that side met when they where part of the resistance. I was often told of the stories that happened in those days. At first Denmark was simply stunned when the Germans simply rode in they where not really armed and no real declaration of war was given.

But from 1943 a council of freedom was formed with all the groups that where opposed to the Germans could go to. My Grandmother was the equivalent of a supply officer as she was a midwife and had good reason to move around. What she did do as well was help smuggle people out. Of the 8000 Jews in Denmark over 7000 where smuggled out and across the Baltic to Sweden.

Better not mention Washington then.

Still a very interesting and often forgotten piece of history is the War of 1812. It did nearly break up the Union with New England almost declaring independence from the USA and did bankrupt the USA, destroying the power of the landlords who had an agrarian based economy. It gave you the National Anthem, err a lot of free land (after the burning of the original city) in which to build washingtons monuements. And decided how the USA and Canada where to look.

I only paid attention to this war when I was in fort George a local Historic monuement and still working barracks (actually a massive 18th century fortification and impressive today still) which has artifacts taken by the Highlanders in the regiments that burned Washington. It really does not merit too much attention over here as its pivotal battles happened in the same year as Napolean was defeated the first time. (actually the 1812 war finished in 1815 the year Napolean was trully and utterly defeated.

Actually it was an attempt to get the British Canadian colonies to become part of a greater USA. This happened while GB was dealing with Napolean

Even if this cant be used for space elevators its use in other materials for space would prove a great boon. Imagine lighter tougher space suits, lighter space craft and rockets. The possibilities are endless........