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What could you mine on the moon that would be worth transporting home?
by causi 3y ago
What could you mine on the moon that would be worth transporting home?
- ben_w 3y agoBack when people were suggesting mining it for helium-3, I remember reading a blog post that claimed the best way to get it out of the regolith would produce ridiculously high-purity metals as a side product. It then went on to point out that the particle density of helium-3 in regolith of was so low that, despite it being a fusion fuel, it made more sense to catapult the ingots to earth and (1) magnetically decelerate them for energy, and/or (2) burn them. I suspect one of the best things you can build on the moon and not on Earth is an orbital ring[0]. Well, two rings, first you build one orbiting the moon, learn what the failure modes are and how to mitigate them, then you use that learning experience to export the parts for another to Earth… but I am just straight up assuming that the cost of a moon-based factory won't blow away the cost savings from the difference in delta-v going down to LEO from the Moon (with or without a lunar orbital ring) vs. going up to LEO from the surface of the Earth. (Also: not mining, but I imagine it would be a great place for dangerous research, inspired by all the people suggesting COVID leaked out of a gain-of-function research laboratory). [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbital_ring https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbital_ring
- tim333 3y agoI gather there are asteroids with a lot of gold and platinum. Just crash one into the moon and then mine the debris.
- eru 3y agoI'm not sure that's better than mining them in-situ?