The U.S. military needs tungsten, but pristine NASA site may stand in the way
A unique landform is vital for calibrating NASA’s satellites, but it’s likely sitting atop a vast deposit of this heavy metal, which is crucial for making munitions
The U.S. military is seeking domestic sources of tungsten, a crucial mineral for weapon production, but a NASA facility in Nevada may hinder mining efforts, according to a Financial Times report. Located in the Great Basin Desert, the deposit in Railroad Valley could contain nearly two million metric tons of tungsten. However, a third of the site is reserved for NASA to calibrate Earth-observing satellites, preventing any mining activities.
The pristine area, known as Railroad Valley, has been used by NASA for calibration purposes since at least 1989 due to its large, flat, and vegetation-free landscape, making it ideal for ensuring satellite measurements are accurate. NASA missions such as Landsat, Suomi NPP, and EMIT rely on this site for their observations. Despite its value to the military, the U.S. has not produced tungsten domestically for years, instead relying on imports primarily from China.
Written by urgent.news from Scientific American's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
