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I'm thinking more long term. Things I'd like to see: * Autonomous vehicles sent ahead of time to build habitats for people. * Large underground bases dug into

I'm thinking more long term. Things I'd like to see: * Autonomous vehicles sent ahead of time to build habitats for people. * Large underground bases dug into the bedrock positioned at the poles collecting solar energy. * Long tracks to launch things into space/earth electromagnetically. * Mining of ice which could get split into H and O for propellant. * Mining of other materials to be used on site or sent back to earth. * Attempt to get people to be self sufficient on another world, even if it took a hundred years. * Depot for deep space asteroid mining ships/drones to drop off their cargo and refuel/repair without having to drop all the way down to Earth.

lorenzhs 9y ago
The moon’s inclination is 5 degrees to the ecliptic, you’d have to try really hard to find a worse place to put solar panels. Self-sufficiency would require manufacturing complex organical compounds and is total science fiction stuff, and will likely remain that way for a looong time.
- gnarbarian 9y ago
  How else would you power a moon base without getting stuck sending up material forever?
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
jcranmer 9y ago
Pretty much everything on your list is not possible with our current technology. More importantly, it's feasible to develop this technology on Earth. The problem with going to the moon (or anywhere else in the solar system) is that the only thing we can do right now is science experiments. And there's a lot more impactful science that can be done for far cheaper than sending people outside of our gravity well. If you want to do anything else, then you have to develop a lot of technology to get to the point. But the space bugs want to see humans go to space, and they generally don't want to see effort being expended on the research to let humans do anything useful because it's not space research.
- gnarbarian 9y ago
  Aside from H3 I'd argue everything on that list is within our grasp if we tried to do so.
  - jcranmer 9y ago
    If you define it as "building infrastructure on the Moon to do so," no, it is not available with current technology. Where are you going to get your acids for refining, for example, if you can't scavenge from old piles of organic goop?
    - gnarbarian 9y ago
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refining_(metallurgy) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refining_(metallurgy) >The repeated application of such fire-refining processes was capable of producing copper that was 99.25% pure. Copper and iron can be refined reasonably enough using heat. Maybe it's possible to "pitch" metallic ore into very close and highly a eccentric orbit around the sun to help melt it down before "catching" it on the other side. Perhaps acids could be brought up and recycled? https://www.space.com/13247-moon-map-lunar-titanium.html https://www.space.com/13247-moon-map-lunar-titanium.html Titanium might be more difficult. https://titaniumprocessingcenter.com/titanium-extraction-and-refining/ https://titaniumprocessingcenter.com/titanium-extraction-and... Seems like asteroid mining would be pretty straight forward on the surface of the moon. The lack of erosion is capable of showing us exactly where they are. Like I said it might take a hundred years before we can be totally self sufficient on the moon, but I think it's possible long term.
    - gnarbarian 9y ago
      Here's a pretty cool research paper: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228918710_Design_and_Construction_for_Self-sufficiency_in_a_Lunar_Colony https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228918710_Design_an... another: http://www.chicagospace.org/strategies.html http://www.chicagospace.org/strategies.html

lorenzhs 9y ago

The moon’s inclination is 5 degrees to the ecliptic, you’d have to try really hard to find a worse place to put solar panels. Self-sufficiency would require manufacturing complex organical compounds and is total science fiction stuff, and will likely remain that way for a looong time.

gnarbarian 9y ago
How else would you power a moon base without getting stuck sending up material forever?
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]

jcranmer 9y ago

Pretty much everything on your list is not possible with our current technology. More importantly, it's feasible to develop this technology on Earth. The problem with going to the moon (or anywhere else in the solar system) is that the only thing we can do right now is science experiments. And there's a lot more impactful science that can be done for far cheaper than sending people outside of our gravity well. If you want to do anything else, then you have to develop a lot of technology to get to the point. But the space bugs want to see humans go to space, and they generally don't want to see effort being expended on the research to let humans do anything useful because it's not space research.

gnarbarian 9y ago
Aside from H3 I'd argue everything on that list is within our grasp if we tried to do so.
- jcranmer 9y ago
  If you define it as "building infrastructure on the Moon to do so," no, it is not available with current technology. Where are you going to get your acids for refining, for example, if you can't scavenge from old piles of organic goop?
  - gnarbarian 9y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refining_(metallurgy) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refining_(metallurgy) >The repeated application of such fire-refining processes was capable of producing copper that was 99.25% pure. Copper and iron can be refined reasonably enough using heat. Maybe it's possible to "pitch" metallic ore into very close and highly a eccentric orbit around the sun to help melt it down before "catching" it on the other side. Perhaps acids could be brought up and recycled? https://www.space.com/13247-moon-map-lunar-titanium.html https://www.space.com/13247-moon-map-lunar-titanium.html Titanium might be more difficult. https://titaniumprocessingcenter.com/titanium-extraction-and-refining/ https://titaniumprocessingcenter.com/titanium-extraction-and... Seems like asteroid mining would be pretty straight forward on the surface of the moon. The lack of erosion is capable of showing us exactly where they are. Like I said it might take a hundred years before we can be totally self sufficient on the moon, but I think it's possible long term.
  - gnarbarian 9y ago
    Here's a pretty cool research paper: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228918710_Design_and_Construction_for_Self-sufficiency_in_a_Lunar_Colony https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228918710_Design_an... another: http://www.chicagospace.org/strategies.html http://www.chicagospace.org/strategies.html