WSU Tri-Cities Psychology Students Give Tips for Lunar Mining Base

RICHLAND, Wash. — A future mining base on the moon already has a draft management plan, thanks to psychology students at Washington State University Tri-Cities.
 
Students in the summer session of Industrial/Organizational Psychology prepared a management and operations plan for a fictional international Helium 3 mining base on the moon, set in the year 2025.
 
They will present their project at 4 p.m. Thursday, July 26, on the WSU Tri-Cities campus in the East Auditorium, 2710 University Drive, Richland.
 
The 12 students took on the role of an international management consulting firm, drawing up plans for how the lunar base would operate from the human resources angle — including recruitment, staffing, crew composition, rotation schedules, establishing corporate culture, communications, and leadership styles.
 
“We are proposing a management and operations model centered in ‘Positive Psychology,’” Professor Jim Wise said. “We feel that is more congruent with the realities of an international consortium that would be guiding development of the world’s first Helium 3 Mining Base to support a future hydrogen economy.”
 
The class project includes a 45-minute PowerPoint presentation, exhibits, and a question-and-answer period. It is open to the public. Admission is free.