6 ms·

Likely, but the ice-mining scheme will be much easier to pull off, and will therefore be possible sooner, and is therefore more likely to be the primary means b

Likely, but the ice-mining scheme will be much easier to pull off, and will therefore be possible sooner, and is therefore more likely to be the primary means by which these resources are exploited.

zipwitch 8y ago
To save mass (and thus cost) they'll probably dehydrate the water before shipping it back to Earth. Their target market won't care.
- excalibur 8y ago
  Or they could sell it in different concentrations. You can get 1% moonwater for $1000/bottle, or 99% moonwater for $100K/bottle.
  - toast0 8y ago
    I think you could do better selling it homeopathic. 1x10^-12 is way more expensive!
    - glandium 8y ago
      10^-12 is only a 6C dilution. The dilution advocated by Hahnemann is 30C, which is 10^-60. Oscillococcinum is at 200C (10^-400).
- Coincoin 8y ago
  On the other hand, they also believe in homeopathy, so you would only need 1 litre of moon water to produce billions. edit: excalibur beat me to it.
- rzzzt 8y ago
  They could also split it up, and ship the gases in compressed form.
  - Symmetry 8y ago
    Because oxygen and especially hydrogen are such a pain to store compared to water some rocket designs contemplate just leaving all the fuel mass as water and only splitting it into its parts as needed before firing.
    - dmurray 8y ago
      Don't you need an energy source to turn the water into its parts? That's the energy you recoup when you burn the hydrogen. Or did I miss the joke?
      - GW150914 8y ago
        Presumably this would be done with a small nuclear reactor powering an electrolysis system, in which case it’s feasible. Your savings are in complexity and weight because containing a mass of water is trivial, and naturally dense compared to H or O. As an extra feature you need water anyway, it can be used as a coolant, and you need oxygen which you’re now generating as a byproduct. Presumably for cruising you’d use the nuclear reactor to power an ion drive and only use the Water splitter as needed for maneuvering, launches, and landing.
      - Nomentatus 8y ago
        South pole - perfect place for constant solar power. Just raise it up a little bit.
    - accrual 8y ago
      Water is also effective at blocking radiation [0][1], making it especially useful when stored around the spacecraft occupants. [0] https://www.quora.com/Can-we-use-water-or-ice-as-radiation-shielding-in-space https://www.quora.com/Can-we-use-water-or-ice-as-radiation-s... [1] https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/284275main_Radiation_HS_Mod3.pdf https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/284275main_Radiation_HS_Mod3.pdf (page 4)
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
garmaine 8y ago
Let the wealthy pay tons of money to go work the ice mines in the moon for a few weeks at a time while it has its novelty. Kill 2 birds with one stone.

Likely, but the ice-mining scheme will be much easier to pull off, and will therefore be possible sooner, and is therefore more likely to be the primary means by which these resources are exploited.

zipwitch 8y ago

To save mass (and thus cost) they'll probably dehydrate the water before shipping it back to Earth. Their target market won't care.

excalibur 8y ago
Or they could sell it in different concentrations. You can get 1% moonwater for $1000/bottle, or 99% moonwater for $100K/bottle.
- toast0 8y ago
  I think you could do better selling it homeopathic. 1x10^-12 is way more expensive!
  - glandium 8y ago
    10^-12 is only a 6C dilution. The dilution advocated by Hahnemann is 30C, which is 10^-60. Oscillococcinum is at 200C (10^-400).
Coincoin 8y ago
On the other hand, they also believe in homeopathy, so you would only need 1 litre of moon water to produce billions. edit: excalibur beat me to it.
rzzzt 8y ago
They could also split it up, and ship the gases in compressed form.
- Symmetry 8y ago
  Because oxygen and especially hydrogen are such a pain to store compared to water some rocket designs contemplate just leaving all the fuel mass as water and only splitting it into its parts as needed before firing.
  - dmurray 8y ago
    Don't you need an energy source to turn the water into its parts? That's the energy you recoup when you burn the hydrogen. Or did I miss the joke?
    - GW150914 8y ago
      Presumably this would be done with a small nuclear reactor powering an electrolysis system, in which case it’s feasible. Your savings are in complexity and weight because containing a mass of water is trivial, and naturally dense compared to H or O. As an extra feature you need water anyway, it can be used as a coolant, and you need oxygen which you’re now generating as a byproduct. Presumably for cruising you’d use the nuclear reactor to power an ion drive and only use the Water splitter as needed for maneuvering, launches, and landing.
    - Nomentatus 8y ago
      South pole - perfect place for constant solar power. Just raise it up a little bit.
  - accrual 8y ago
    Water is also effective at blocking radiation [0][1], making it especially useful when stored around the spacecraft occupants. [0] https://www.quora.com/Can-we-use-water-or-ice-as-radiation-shielding-in-space https://www.quora.com/Can-we-use-water-or-ice-as-radiation-s... [1] https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/284275main_Radiation_HS_Mod3.pdf https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/284275main_Radiation_HS_Mod3.pdf (page 4)
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

garmaine 8y ago

Let the wealthy pay tons of money to go work the ice mines in the moon for a few weeks at a time while it has its novelty. Kill 2 birds with one stone.