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Again, there is a very practical reason why humans will never colonize the moon. And that reason is the moon dust. The moon dust is quite special as it is hig
by idiocrat 4y ago
Again, there is a very practical reason why humans will never colonize the moon.
And that reason is the moon dust.
The moon dust is quite special as it is highly abrasive and sticks to anything because of the electrostatic charges.
It seeps though any gap and will wear down and render any mechanical machine useless in very short time.
Nothing soft (clothes, plastic) will survive on moon for more than few months.
The dust is a nightmare for anything non-moon and there is no help.
- exitheone 4y agoThere is help and it's not looking quite so grim. See one of the latest Real Engineering videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k9wIsKKgqo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k9wIsKKgqo Dust buildup can be significantly decreased by weaving conductors throughout the outer shells and applying a current to it.
- alanbernstein 4y agoWhat about... Being inside a building? You know, since humans need atmosphere anyway?
- Akronymus 4y agoAny activity that requires going outside will inevitably get some amount of dust through the airlock. So, it is going to slow it down by a lot, but not stop it.
- WJW 4y agoWell, vacuum cleaners are a thing and could probably be exported to the moon to take care of any dust getting inside. The dust is extra abrasive because it hasn't been exposed to weathering due to the lack of athmosphere and so has kept all the sharp edges. As soon as it gets inside and gets chafed/bumped around, many of the sharper edges will abrade. Of all the challenges for making humans live on the moon, sharp dust is one of the smaller ones.
- peterpost2 4y agoCould some sort of robotic vacuum autonomously suck it up and get rid of the harshest of edges. At least in the regions nearest to the base where active work is being done
- Akronymus 4y agoThats a pretty good objection. As is often the case, the simple solution eluded me.
- JohnHaugeland 4y agoYes let's vacuum billions of years of dust from the entire moon
- Akronymus 4y agoWhich isn't what GP suggested at all. > Well, vacuum cleaners are a thing and could probably be exported to the moon to take care of any dust getting inside. Specifically that last part.
- JohnHaugeland 4y agoYes, and how did it get inside? And what's stopping the rest? And where do you put what's captured? They're the same statement once you think about it some or have some domain experience
- Akronymus 4y agoNot really the same thing. While, sure, there will always come more, it more like dust on earth. And you can just put it back outside. What your comment seemed to suggest, was trying to preemptively remove all the dust.
- JohnHaugeland 4y agoThat's exactly what you have to do when the dust is all glass powder Moon encampments need to be clean rooms with respect to the outside It's a little like being underwater in a dome. If you see stuff from the outside inside, there's a dangerous leak. Oh, except for that this dust kills you if you breathe it in, which water doesn't
- ekianjo 4y agoUnless the dust is completely electrically neutral you should be able to build powered repellents for it.
- eesmith 4y agoYutu-2 is the robotic lunar rover which has been moving on the Moon's surface for over three years.