The Canadian Space Commerce Association is hosting today's Accelerating Space Conference at the University of Toronto. It is a small, formal gathering of entrepreneurs, interested business people, students and venture capitalists. Deloitte, Royal Bank of Canada and The Space Angels Network are represented. (Special thanks to TopSpacer for this guest blogging opportunity.)

Odyssey Moon 1:15 pm

Keynote address was by Dr. Robert Richards, founder of Odyssey Moon, a Google Lunar X-Prize contestant. Dr. Richards worked with Carl Sagan during his time at Cornell. Big proponent of the "Moon Rush" opportunity for lunar economic development. Aims to leverage surface imagery taken from recent lunar orbiters for Odyssey Moon rover navigation and targeting. Moon as the "Eighth Continent" with mineral content useful for PV solar cell manufacture. Earth "backup" repository for biosphere and sum total of human knowledge.

Asserts that Odyssey Moon was a year in the making before being "smoked out" by Google Lunar X-Prize. Incorporate in Isle of Man for regulatory, tax and ITAR reasons. Big proponent of Isle of Man as "switzerland of the space business". Isle of Man legislation shaped by an ISU graduate. Odyssey Moon will be flying Isle of Man flag on its lunar rover; notes many oceanic freighters call from Isle of Man for similar benefits.

Odyssey Moon goals: first private enterprise on moon; market lunar products; win Google Lunar X-Prize. Analogies Lunar exploitation with GEO comsat market: consider the Moon as just another satellite, a little farther out. Prime contractor work with MDA already started. Aims to lower business risk with multinational agreements.

Will live with Law of the Sea; won't claim title for Moon territory it lands on. However, Odyssey Moons plans to legally "fish" for lunar resources thus owning anything it extracts. Compares with U.S. suit for stolen Moon rocks as NASA property. Expects success of Google Lunar X-Prize may stimulate amendment of Cold War-era agreements such as the U.N. Outer Space Treaty.