Moon rock to be on display in Wise County

WISE, Va. – Normally, a mineral lease is nothing special in Wise County, where the economy depends on the extraction of coal and natural gas.

But a different kind of lease is getting a lot of attention: the loan of a moon rock that will be on display for the public in late January. The rock is identified as basalt – a type of rock that’s also found on earth. But to Southwest Virginia space enthusiasts, it’s more than just a chunk of gray moon matter; it’s a symbol of the future.

Special rock

“If we’re developing a lunar colony, that is going to cost money. And it should be private-sector invested, and that’s what a lot of this is about,” said Jack Kennedy, the Wise County clerk of circuit court, who also serves on the Virginia Commercial Spaceflight Authority.

The question, he said, is whether the private sector will be unleashed – or inhibited – when it comes to space.

“The moon rock is symbolic of trying to unleash the creativity that is encapsulated within people that has been retained over these past 40 years as we’ve ad nauseum circled the earth.”

He’s talking about a U.S. space program that landed men on the moon six times between 1969 and 1972, but hasn’t been back since.

Kennedy said it’s time to go back to the moon – and beyond. He believes that children from Wise County and the rest of Southwest Virginia -- given the right education and inspiration -- can be among those who lead the effort.

Big events

The Apollo 14 moon rock is to be displayed as part of a series of public and educational events focused on the dawn of a commercial space age.

The rock, which will be guarded by day and secured in a vault by night, is coming with nearly three tons of other NASA exhibits. It was picked up from the lunar surface by astronaut Edgar Mitchell in 1971.

Among the speakers is Adam Sanders, a 2002 Powell Valley High School graduate who was instrumental in the creation of Robonaut-2, a humanoid robot affectionately called R-2. The robot can be used for spacecraft maintenance and possibly exploration of the moon.

Kennedy said he believes the January events will help propel Southwest Virginia students in the direction of science, technology and space.

Among the pieces he says might fit into Wise County’s space education infrastructure: technical school training to build space hardware and UVa-Wise involvement in space station experiments.

Miners in space?

Kennedy predicts an American company will have a tourist ship in lunar orbit by 2015 and the American commercial sector will put humans on the moon by the early 2020s.

Seeking a return on investment, companies will want to begin mining the moon for resources – and for the materials needed to produce rocket fuel, oxygen and other materials needed to operate in space.

Ultimately, he said, the extraction of resources will drive the development of the moon and asteroids.

“Footprints and flags are not what it’s going to be about in the 21st century; it’s going to be about developing resources and creating that second world,” Kennedy said. “It’s not going to come in my lifetime …but it’s coming.”

When miners are needed in space, he said, what better place to look than Southwest Virginia?

“The generation that is in our public schools today will have the opportunity to create a two-world system,” Kennedy said, “and if you’re going to mine the moon, you certainly don’t want to get folks to do it who have no familiarity with mining. And that’s the forte of this region, is the ability to extract resources.”

Beyond that, the space program will again spin off new technologies including possible solutions to the world’s energy needs.

“You’ve got to make the initial investment to have the payoff,” Kennedy said. “We’ve got to have the leap of faith and the working knowledge to invest in these things for progress.”

dmccown@bristolnews.com

(276) 791-0701