An spent rocket stage that NASA sent hurtling into the moon last year in hopes of kicking up water from a polar crater delivered on that mission, revealing that at least a moderate portion of its target was indeed made of ice. But the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) revealed much more than that—hinting at a rich mixture of chemical species in the crater, including carbon monoxide, mercury and possibly silver.
And where there is silver and mercury, there will also likely be gold, platinum, and a host of other rare strategic metals. To read the rest of the article, click here.