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We're not quite ready to do a complete pro forma financial statement, but based on the cost analysis above, we can get started with it.
The bottom line is that we need initial capital of $420 million to get those samples home, plus $231 million for subsequent missions. Profit from the first mission ought to pay for subsequent missions, so let's assume total capital required is $420 million.
The next step is to figure out how much moon stuff we get for this much money, and whether proceeds from the sale of that moon stuff yields investors a good return on investment.
Let's schedule out the capital requirement, based on taking four years to get to launch with a program start of January 1, 1997. Assumptions made about when we need the capital should be obvious from the way the numbers are spread.
Total 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
Launcher 110 110
Carrier Spacecraft 50 25 25
Robotic Element 70 35 35
Mission Control Element 40 10 10 20
Recovery Operations 30 10 20
Marketing 50 5 5 10 15 15
Program Wraps 70 15 15 15 15 10
Totals 420 90 90 155 40 45
TBD.
We'll need to model the whole program in more detail to even begin to guess at revenues. Although the marketing analysis deems it premature, we'll need to do some market surveys later on. Perhaps local chapters of the Artemis Society would be willing to distribute a questionnaire, interview folks at the local shopping centers, or contact dealers of jewelry and collectables? How about contacting folks who might want lunar samples for scientific or public display purposes -- planetariums, museums, universities, all those planetologists who attend the Lunar and Planetary Science Conferences?
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