  The national space programs have an historic opportunity to help solve the
global-scale economic and environmental problems of Earth while becoming more
effective at science through the use of space resources. Space programs will be
more cost-effective when they work to establish a supply chain in space, mining
and manufacturing then replicating the assets of the supply chain so it grows
to larger capacity. This has become achievable because of advances in robotics
and artificial intelligence. It is roughly estimated that developing a lunar
outpost that relies upon and also develops the supply chain will cost about 1/3
or less of the existing annual budgets of the national space programs. It will
require a sustained commitment of several decades to complete, during which
time science and exploration become increasingly effective. At the end, this
space industry will capable of addressing global-scale challenges including
limited resources, clean energy, economic development, and preservation of the
environment. Other potential solutions, including nuclear fusion and
terrestrial renewable energy sources, do not address the root problem of our
limited globe and there are real questions whether they will be inadequate or
too late. While industry in space likewise cannot provide perfect assurance, it
is uniquely able to solve the root problem, and it gives us an important chance
that we should grasp. What makes this such an historic opportunity is that the
space-based solution is obtainable as a side-benefit of doing space science and
exploration within their existing budgets. Thinking pragmatically, it may take
some time for policymakers to agree that setting up a complete supply chain is
an achievable goal, so this paper describes a strategy of incremental progress.
