As Moon interest heats up, two companies unveil plans for a lunar “harvester”

The Moon has received a lot of attention in recent months, particularly the surface of Earth’s cold and dusty companion.

This has largely been driven by a decision from SpaceX founder Elon Musk to pivot, at least in the near term, from Mars to lunar surface activities and the potential for using material there to build large satellites. But there has been a notable shift from NASA, too, which has started talking a lot more about building up elements of a base on the surface rather than an orbiting space station known as the Gateway.

In short, the world’s most successful space company and the largest space agency have both increased their lunar ambitions, suggesting a greater frequency of missions to the Moon in the coming years.

For companies that have long-term business plans focused around the surface of the Moon, these are very positive developments. And two ...