AbstractRecent developments from the New Space industry have seen the appearance of a number of new companies interested in the creation of a self-sustained economy in cislunar space. Industries such as asteroid mining, Moon mining, and on-orbit manufacturing require the existence of a developed economy in space for the business cases to close in the long term, without the need to have the government as a permanent anchor customer. However, most studies and business plans do not consider the global picture of the cislunar economy, and only work with Earth-based activities when evaluating possible customers and competition. This work aims to set the framework for the study of the cislunar economy as a whole by identifying the market verticals that will form the basis of the economic activities in cislunar space, focusing on activities that create value in space for space. The prospective cislunar market verticals are identified based on a comprehensive review of current space activities and of proposed future business cases. This framework can be expanded in the future with evaluations of market sizes and relationships between verticals to inform business plans and investment decisions. The study was performed during the first two months in the summer of 2016 as part of the author's internship at NASA's Space Portal Office to complete the International Space University Master of Space Studies.
HighlightsA framework based on market verticals in cislunar space is proposed.The framework covers a minimal set of activities needed in a self-sustained economy.The market verticals are derived from existing and planned cislunar activities.The framework can be further detailed to inform investment and business plans.An initial estimation of the evolution of the cislunar economy is provided.
Establishing a framework for studying the emerging cislunar economy
Acta Astronautica ; 141 ; 209-218
2017-10-03
10 pages
Aufsatz (Zeitschrift)
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch
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