The United Imperium Counters the British Space Mining Monopoly

The Imperium Space Exploration Agency (ISEA) was in uproar last week as it was revealed that the British had a much more expansive capability for asteroid mining than was previously thought. Although the two nations are allies, Director Von Braun (whose previous employment as a necromancer with ties to radical authoritarian right-wing movements is currently under heavy scrutiny, by the way) expressed frustration with the fact that the Brits appeared to be in the lead in this asteroid mining endeavor, despite not even having placed a man on the Moon in their history (forget about Mars!). Though the Imperium has done some tentative research into the feasibility of the technology, their efforts on both the Moon and Mars have prioritized forming sustainable colonies, rather than the purely economic value of those locations. 

Of course, those endeavors have been hindered by a couple of problems: where the moon is concerned, the main issue with colonization is radiation: the problems of solving the food, water, and oxygen dilemmas have more or less been solved (at least from a conceptual standpoint). However, shielding from radiation for any potential lunar colonists is a major concern. The current best solution to this problem is the use of lunar regolith "domes" to effectively block out harmful radiation whilst maintaining a closed environment within the colony. However, how do we build the regolith domes if we cannot put people on the planet in the first place due to the radiation? How can we get around the challenges of operation within a spacesuit to build such large structures on the Moon? Furthermore, the consequences of long-term exposure to reduced gravity from a biological perspective have yet to be explored. 

Artist Depiction of a Theoretical Lunar Colony. Currently, a Lunar Colony is not feasible due to the challenges of building regolith domes such as the ones seen in the above picture.

Mars has its own problems. While small encampments can be set up on the red planet (and accessing food, water, and oxygen is made easier by the availability of acceptable-quality soil and the polar ice caps of Mars), larger settlements face many of the difficulties that the lunar settlers might face. These difficulties are also exacerbated by the 140 million-mile distance between the Earth and Mars. One proposed solution for long term settlement of the planet is terraforming, but there is much debate about how this should be done. For a while, Director Von Braun and many private contractors for the ISEA (including the eccentric Dr. Yilong Musk, the CEO of SpaceXpeditions) wanted to nuke the Red Planet in an effort to jump-start the formation of a Martian atmosphere, but due to some glaring concerns with this issue, Braun and Musk were voted down. More traditional approaches to the problem, however, have also come under fire due to the extremely high cost and extremely long time commitment.

The settlement of the Solar System is a noble goal, and I believe that the United Imperium must keep pushing towards this goal. However, it is very clear that we have failed to take advantage of the economic opportunites that are available to us right now in space. Especially in the field of asteroid mining, and the mining on not just our own moon, but also the Martian moons of Phobos and Deimos. In order to catch up to the British in the outer space mining question, I have offered contracts to Specialized Dynamics, SpaceXpeditions, and Constellation Aerospace to develop and deploy robotic mining solutions on the moon. We will use the Gateway Lunar Space Station to transfer the product of our lunar mining operations back to Earth. With Gateway and the infrastructure we already have on the moon, we are confident that we can begin robotic mining operations on the moon in as little as one year. Why am I so confident? Beyond just the ingenuity that the Imperium and her people continue to display time and again, it seems to follow a trend in space exploration. The development of the Lunar Rover took around 18 months. It took around two years for the first Martian helicopter to be designed. However, these are completely original designs. Since we are iterating off of existing technology, it is reasonable to expect that it will take less time for the Lunar mining systems to be developed in far less time than either the Lunar Rover or the Martian Helicopter.

Von Braun's speech was very optimistic, but clearly had a defined sense of urgency. He was also careful to avoid making it seem like there was competition with the British space mining operations, something Constellation Aerospace CEO Sarah Morgan had no qualms about:

I'm very excited about this new endeavor, and I assure you that Constellation will be the first to secure that Lunar mining contract. I'm also hopeful that by 2100, we can match the British space mining output. I've got tremendous respect for the Brits, they're some great people, but I've got more respect for my people, and I know Constellation is going to have a grand old time with this project.

Dr. Morgan and the Constellation Aerospace Board. We had the pleasure of interviewing many of the top board members of Constellation after Director Von Braun's announcement about the mining endeavors.

Although there aren't a lot of details that are currently available about how Constellation, SpaceXpeditions, or Specialized Dynamics will tackle the problem, it is going to be very exciting to see how the United Imperium's space industry takes on its next big challenge.

Other news: 

The Imperium has just secured a deal with Nebelystan to build a Forward Operations Base on Nebelonian soil in exchange for a Nebolonian military base to be built inside the United Imperium. 

[Out of RP] The United Imperium and the rp roundtable have made some tremendous progress. More updates will come soon.

Food prices fall as radiation continues to decrease in North America and across the world.

The United Imperium welcomes a few more nations into the JGP.

A bill was drafted attempting to ban Sharia Law from being allowed to have applications in the federal government. This was done in the interest of preserving the separation of church and state. The Senate votes on the bill next week.

Defending United Imperium Football League (UIFL) Champions the Balboa Knights are knocked out by new expansion team the Pulisichia Nets in a massive upset. The Nets go on to play the Eisenhower Generals in the UIFL Championship Game, which is to be played in two weeks' time.

The United Imperium has just been made president of the CFTA within IFAPO and has also accepted the position as IFAPO congressman! To join IFAPO and get involved in all kinds of fun soccer events such as World Cups, Euros, Champions Leagues, and more, join the Discord and get started making your team! The link to join is this: https://discord.gg/vUctWTqP

President Roosevelt vetoed a major infrastructure improvement bill due to concerns regarding the bill's lack of provision for the protection of illegal immigrants, much to the chagrin of Senator Rysander Regan. Tensions between the two men continue to escalate, and we will monitor the situation in government as it develops.

That's all for now, folks. Thanks for reading.