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Both the moon and mars likely have similar problems for human settlement. Both have highly abrasive dust ready to shred machinery, no breathable atmosphere, an
by lumost 4y ago
Both the moon and mars likely have similar problems for human settlement. Both have highly abrasive dust ready to shred machinery, no breathable atmosphere, and limited gravity. In principal there may be greater concentrations of carbon on Mars for various purposes.
- ace2358 4y agoI though mars also has water which would be hugely helpful. Neither of the celestial bodies have mediums for growing food in so that either has to be manufactured or carted over. Either way it’s a huge challenge to overcome.
- blacksmith_tb 4y agoSo does the moon[1]! It is also a much shorter drive away. 1: https://moon.nasa.gov/news/155/theres-water-on-the-moon/ https://moon.nasa.gov/news/155/theres-water-on-the-moon/
- throwaway0a5e 4y agoAll dust is abrasive (or at least as abrasive as a material of that hardness can be) when it's new and yet to be worn down by the environment. God knows how many machines are rolling around mines, foundries and scrap yards as you type this. Moon dust is only an issue insofar as the kinds of people who wind up doing aerospace engineering don't tend to have the kinds of work backgrounds that make one good at designing things for low margin industrial environments so they're apt to make rookie mistakes in that area. This isn't a hard problem. Every major rubber components manufacturer probably has some gray beard who can look at your dust under a microscope and then tell you exactly what you need to do for your application. The huge temp swings, now that's actually a real problem.
- midoridensha 4y agoDust on Mars isn't nearly as bad, because it's been worn down by the weather processes there. Moon dust isn't like this.