Businesses could fund moon base says Manx thinktank

A Manx thinktank says it believes a commercial settlement on the moon is possible by the end of the next decade.

The International Institute of Space Commerce, based at the Nunnery in Douglas, has produced a report about the possibility of a lunar settlement.

The organisation says economics rather than technology is currently the biggest difficulty, but private industry and private capital may provide a solution.

And it predicts with governments starting to take notice, such a base might be achievable within the next 10 years.