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"Deep Space Industries will also focus on extracting asteroid water, which can be split into its constituent hydrogen and oxygen — the chief components of rocke

"Deep Space Industries will also focus on extracting asteroid water, which can be split into its constituent hydrogen and oxygen — the chief components of rocket fuel." To do this, you need a lot of energy, it is essentially charging a battery. If this was really feasible wouldn't we be using solar panels to separate water into hydrogen on Earth? Do solar panels in space have the potential for far greater energy output due to less atmospheric constraints?

typpo 14y ago
The reason this is an attractive prospect in space and not on Earth is that the cost of getting rocket fuel off Earth is quite high. Once fuel becomes available in space, it makes refueling possible and lowers the cost of further activity or exploration.
gte910h 14y ago
To take water from the surface of the earth, separated or not, you have to spend a CRAP TON of energy. Moving the fuel to release such energy to space is almost by definition cheaper than moving the separated storage medium.
maaku 14y ago
> To do this, you need a lot of energy, it is essentially charging a battery. If this was really feasible wouldn't we be using solar panels to separate water into hydrogen on Earth? We do. If you buy commercial hydrogen, it was probably extracted by water by that process (although other processes are possible), using energy from the grid of which some percent is solar. So what exactly is your point anyway? The needs in space are far different than on Earth. Solar energy is abundant and available 24/7, but stored energy is needed by rocket engines in large amounts and all at once.
tarice 14y ago
In space, the atmosphere can't filter out any of the sunlight, nor can clouds/water absorb some of its energy, which results in about 30% more energy[1]. Plus, if you're not near any objects that can block the sun (i.e. Earth/Moon), you get full, intense sunlight 24-hours a day. And you can use some of that sunlight to just directly heat the water, which makes it easier to split. Given all that, I'd say that it's very likely you could get enough energy to split water in space. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunlight http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunlight
- daeken 14y ago
  Not to mention that if you're in a near-zero gravity environment, you really don't have to do anything to keep the solar panels in place; structures just to keep things upright on Earth are expensive and bulky. Space architecture is so cool.

typpo 14y ago

The reason this is an attractive prospect in space and not on Earth is that the cost of getting rocket fuel off Earth is quite high. Once fuel becomes available in space, it makes refueling possible and lowers the cost of further activity or exploration.

gte910h 14y ago

To take water from the surface of the earth, separated or not, you have to spend a CRAP TON of energy. Moving the fuel to release such energy to space is almost by definition cheaper than moving the separated storage medium.

maaku 14y ago

> To do this, you need a lot of energy, it is essentially charging a battery. If this was really feasible wouldn't we be using solar panels to separate water into hydrogen on Earth? We do. If you buy commercial hydrogen, it was probably extracted by water by that process (although other processes are possible), using energy from the grid of which some percent is solar. So what exactly is your point anyway? The needs in space are far different than on Earth. Solar energy is abundant and available 24/7, but stored energy is needed by rocket engines in large amounts and all at once.

tarice 14y ago

In space, the atmosphere can't filter out any of the sunlight, nor can clouds/water absorb some of its energy, which results in about 30% more energy[1]. Plus, if you're not near any objects that can block the sun (i.e. Earth/Moon), you get full, intense sunlight 24-hours a day. And you can use some of that sunlight to just directly heat the water, which makes it easier to split. Given all that, I'd say that it's very likely you could get enough energy to split water in space. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunlight http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunlight

daeken 14y ago
Not to mention that if you're in a near-zero gravity environment, you really don't have to do anything to keep the solar panels in place; structures just to keep things upright on Earth are expensive and bulky. Space architecture is so cool.