From looting monasteries to settling in new countries , there is a lot space travellers can learn ( and unlearn ) from the Vikings about resourcefulness in unfamiliar lands .
In the not-too-distant future , humans will be permanently settling in the most unfamiliar lands yet : extraterrestrial lands , like the Moon , Mars , other moons and even asteroids . These places are full of scientific knowledge that will grow our understanding of the universe . They are also full of space resources , which are useful materials found outside Earth . In Viking terms , that means space is full of LOOT ! And just like the Vikings , future astronauts will need to be as resourceful as possible by pillaging this loot to support their missions . UNLIKE the Vikings , however , astronauts can plunder other planets with a clear conscience … right ? Isn ’ t it fine to go into space and just take what we want ? Or is it more complicated than that ?
Here are the facts we know :
1 Space has lots of cool stuff . Much of the Solar System is made of similar rocky stuff to Earth , which hides useful metals within , such as iron . Some smaller bodies ( like asteroids ) also have large deposits of gold , silver and platinum ( now that ’ s a hoard !), while other places , like our Moon , contain gallons of water trapped as ice .
2 Those resources are super valuable . Some resources like gold are precious enough to bring back home , just like the Vikings did . Others , like water and iron , are common on Earth but will be extremely valuable for living in space , e . g . for building settlements and carrying out science .
3 Space belongs to nobody . … well , nobody so far . Currently , all resources in space are free for everyone to use , yay ! This has been agreed upon internationally in the Outer Space Treaty .
FUN FACT HORN The Outer Space Treaty was introduced by the United Nations ( UN ) in 1967 , two years before the first human stepped on the Moon . It is an agreement between 115 countries to keep space safe and fair . It forbids the use of space for military reasons , and declares that all parts of the Solar System belong to all humanity rather than any single nation .
8