Re: Confused
Well it makes sense if the motive is not really about collecting these initial samples in a short timescale.
It seems to me that they are trying to kickstart a commercial prospecting industry. If private industry can come up with competitive / cost effective ways of collecting the materials from various disparate locations across the Moon ( i.e. ice is only suspected to exist in deep, permanently shaded craters) NASA doesn't need to worry about that aspect of prospecting. They can focus on a common return / analysis system.
Something a moon base could be useful for perhaps?
Biting the hand that feeds IT
