Actually the moon is becoming more distant. The gravitational aspect is far more involved than just creating tides. Without the moon the earth would start to wobble and cause strange variances in climate. The moon took a lot of hits when the meteors broke off from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter thus deflecting major damage to the earth. The moon is the biggest satellite in the solar system for any planet. It seems unlikely that the moon is a spin off from the earth but rather a failed planet that was brought into earth's orbit. By the way, Jupiter is a failed sun, as it is a gaseous planet but it never reached the point of fission. The future of the moon from an economic standpoint is vague. I can see manufacturing, like ball bearings that are almost perfect because of the low gravity. Everything made on earth is flawed because of some settling. But to make that feasable the raw materials would have to be mined on the moon. We haven't done such a great job here on earth and even a 'dead' planet like the moon can be damaged. Not to mention that by current treaty no one owns the moon and cannot use it. But I'm sure Disney and McDonald's have someone working on getting a permit to set up shop.