3 ms·

There is water on Mars, why not use it?

• JumpCrisscross 2y ago
  > There is water on Mars, why not use it? It's expensive. Every gram takes tremendous resources and energy to extract. It would be like using antimatter for a small-town fireworks show.
  • throwaway11460 2y ago
    If the nuclear reactor was the only thing that needs water, yeah. But if we're at the point of installing a nuclear reactor on Mars, I guess we would also be actively mining and processing water in large quantities.
    • JumpCrisscross 2y ago
      > if we're at the point of installing a nuclear reactor on Mars, I guess we would also be actively mining and processing water in large quantities A reactor should be among the first things we put down, ahead of the arrival of humans. And even if we’re processing lots of water, it would be a long time before it’s so abundant that sequestering (and irradiating) such a large amount of it is cheaper than other methods.