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There is water (ice) on the moon at the poles and carbon in the rocks so it would be possible to make rocket fuel. Wanting to colonise Mars does not mean you sh

There is water (ice) on the moon at the poles and carbon in the rocks so it would be possible to make rocket fuel. Wanting to colonise Mars does not mean you should avoid the moon. Edit. Spelling

xufi 10y ago
Interesting point. Do you think Elon Musk would ever create a expedition to the Moon even though he's so focused on Mars right now? I always thought he would've tried at least once
- danieltillett 10y ago
  Von Braun wanted to go to Mars too, but ended up choosing the Moon as being the more viable option.
  - toxican 10y ago
    Yeah, in the 60s when nearly every occurrence in space was a "world first"
JumpCrisscross 10y ago
> There is water (ice) on the moon at the poles and carbon in the rocks so it would be possible to make rocket fuel Both requiring advanced, energy-intensive chemistry to extract small amounts of water and trace amounts of carbon. All running on specialised gear built out of elements difficult to find on the Moon. Compare that to heating a fluid containing 95% CO2 to 400 degrees C and running it over a catalyst which makes up over 5% of Martian soil (aluminium). > Want [sic] to colonise Mars does not mean you should avoid the moon. There's value in focus. Mars is the easier and superior target, given present technology and Elon's goals. Someone else can focus on the Moon if they want to.
- danieltillett 10y ago
  I am not sure Mars is the easier target given how much further it is up the gravity well, but certainly Elon is welcome to focus on whatever he wants. I was just making the point that the Moon is able to be used as a source of rocket fuel if so desired and in my opinion it is a worthy target.
simonh 10y ago
> Want to colonise Mars does not mean you should avoid the moon. But does going to the moon do anything to further the cause of colonising Mars? Elon has specific goals he is pursuing. Going to the moon would consume resources that could otherwise be used going to Mars, and there's nothing useful he could do on the moon that would help him in his actual goals.

There is water (ice) on the moon at the poles and carbon in the rocks so it would be possible to make rocket fuel. Wanting to colonise Mars does not mean you should avoid the moon. Edit. Spelling

xufi 10y ago

Interesting point. Do you think Elon Musk would ever create a expedition to the Moon even though he's so focused on Mars right now? I always thought he would've tried at least once

danieltillett 10y ago
Von Braun wanted to go to Mars too, but ended up choosing the Moon as being the more viable option.
- toxican 10y ago
  Yeah, in the 60s when nearly every occurrence in space was a "world first"

JumpCrisscross 10y ago

> There is water (ice) on the moon at the poles and carbon in the rocks so it would be possible to make rocket fuel Both requiring advanced, energy-intensive chemistry to extract small amounts of water and trace amounts of carbon. All running on specialised gear built out of elements difficult to find on the Moon. Compare that to heating a fluid containing 95% CO2 to 400 degrees C and running it over a catalyst which makes up over 5% of Martian soil (aluminium). > Want [sic] to colonise Mars does not mean you should avoid the moon. There's value in focus. Mars is the easier and superior target, given present technology and Elon's goals. Someone else can focus on the Moon if they want to.

danieltillett 10y ago
I am not sure Mars is the easier target given how much further it is up the gravity well, but certainly Elon is welcome to focus on whatever he wants. I was just making the point that the Moon is able to be used as a source of rocket fuel if so desired and in my opinion it is a worthy target.

simonh 10y ago

> Want to colonise Mars does not mean you should avoid the moon. But does going to the moon do anything to further the cause of colonising Mars? Elon has specific goals he is pursuing. Going to the moon would consume resources that could otherwise be used going to Mars, and there's nothing useful he could do on the moon that would help him in his actual goals.