A conversation with Jonathan Geifman, CEO of Helios. The company is developing a way to extract oxygen and metals from lunar and even martian soil, with the double-barreled aim of making deep space exploration more reachable, and cutting down emissions on Earth from heavy industries like steel production.
We touch on a whole bunch of topics: what's been holding up progress in space travel, how power politics affects space travel, the "tyranny of the rocket equation," the process of extracting oxygen, Elon Musk's inspiration for SpaceX, the characteristics of lunar soil, Jonathan's trip to Antarctica, Jonathan's journey to wanting to work in space, sleeping while in space, deeper thoughts on Elon Musk, the many worlds theory, and how a greater good drives Jonathan.
For more on the company: https://project-helios.space/
