RolandoJOlivo

Once upon a time in 2067, one hundred years after the Outer Space Treaty that prohibits the appropriation of natural resources in space, from the Olympia space station, the Commander Howard Pickpower and his crew are in charge of various activities: development of miraculous vaccines, carry out tests with solar energy, destroy space debris and potentially dangerous meteorites or asteroids, and analyze the composition of celestial bodies, searching for new materials and investigating existing ones.

A sensational discovery in the hidden zone of the Moon, faithfully kept in secret, sets off alarms in the Olympia and its governing bodies (the International Space Agency and the United Nations Security Council). So much so that its geopolitical implications could lead to disregarding the Outer Space Treaty and space legislation, and initiate a stage of space mining, with armed conflicts among several nations or a world war.

Meanwhile, five spaceships from different governments and corporations, motivated by the leak of information and rumors, are traveling to the far side of the Moon. Commander Howard Pickpower is instructed to prevent the moon landings, but has problems with Captain Tishy Glassvery, who is determined to take command of Olympia, and reveal to the citizens that indeed: there is gold on the Moon!

In the same way, Howard Pickpower and Tishy Glassvery have a strange love-hate relationship. But, in the end the forces of love will decide their destiny, and that of humanity!

So, what will happen when citizens know the truth? What will be the geopolitical and economic implications? How will the special legislation remain, given the eminent disowning of the prohibition of appropriating space natural resources? Although surely, there will be an unusual beginning of the new space age...

Chapters of the novel

Chapter One. The Majesty of the Cosmos
Chapter Two. A Sensational Discovery
Chapter Three. The New Exploratory Missions
Chapter Four. The Great Space Accidents
Chapter Five. The New Leadership at Olympia
Chapter Six. The Revelation of the Big Secret
Chapter Seven. The Unusual Beginning of the New Space Age
Chapter Eight. The Return of a Commander
Chapter Nine. The Great Failure of Space Missions
Chapter Ten. The New Beginning of the Space Age

Epilogue

Gold on the Moon

The Outer Space Treaty is the legal basis of international law in outer space. It came into force on October 10th, 1967 and most countries in the world have signed it. This agreement prevents military activities in orbit around the Earth, the Moon and other celestial bodies (including the installation of military bases, weapons tests and the use of nuclear weapons). It also prohibits appropriating the Moon, the celestial bodies, and therefore their natural resources, granting governments the power to supervise the activities of third parties in outer space.

However, what would happen if gold was discovered on the Moon and beyond? Will governments and citizens be willing to respect the 1967 Treaty?

Gold on the Moon is a romantic and science fiction novel that presents this situation: it is discovered that there is gold on the Moon and on other planets, moons, meteorites and asteroids in the Solar System. At first, this discovery is faithfully kept secret, but in situations of this nature, it is almost impossible to avoid a leak of information. Likewise, with these great possibilities of enrichment it is not feasible to maintain the aforementioned Outer Space Treaty. This is the story of Commander Howard Pickpower, Captain Tishy Glassvery and two other crew members, aboard the Olympia space station, each immersed in their personal problems (coming from dysfunctional families), who discover lunar gold, and the commander and the captain become involved in a political game, with many interests involved, being the protagonists of a sensational adventure of love and betrayal, in outer space...

Prologue