3 ms·
> in form of oxides on the surface It takes a lot of energy. 3 hours at 1050°C seems to be the optimum[1]. This might be easy to achieve in labs with small qua
by cratermoon 3y ago
> in form of oxides on the surface
It takes a lot of energy.
3 hours at 1050°C seems to be the optimum[1].
This might be easy to achieve in labs with small quantities,
but don't discount the massive infrastructure to do so at production levels.
By 'massive', I mean just that: lots of mass.
What's the break-even point where the energy out exceeds the energy put in?
- avmich 3y agoYes, it will require a plant on the surface of the Moon, but the technological chain is rather short, so maybe it could be somewhat limited in mass. You'll need energy, which could be collected with solar panels, the system, like bulldozers and excavators, for gathering regolith, pulverizing rocks, the reactor, the collector for volatiles, the oxygen separator and oxygen liquifier. Next you'll probably need containers for oxygen, maybe electromagnetic mass driver to accelerate those containers to about 2.4 km/s, which will also need some energy. All these components are rather well known technologically and discussed for long time; I don't remember a forbidding level of energy being mentioned.