A private sector Lunar Mining colony - Getting the money

Grypd · 2016-06-27 10:54:09

The Moon does not have an atmosphere so we cannot really pollute it. It has gravity but its low using mass drivers allow us to send materials from the Moon anywhere we so wish. Its close we have very good radio communications. The nature of its orbit allows us large Lagrange points to place stuff.

But the Moon does not have to have a large human population telerobotics would allow people in offices here on Earth to motivate there telerobotic drones to build and manufacture on the Moon. Power supply on the Moon is potentially in multi terawatt capability and with the ability to move this power around to where we need it expect any science or industry project to be made on the Moon.

GW Johnson · 2016-06-27 17:56:01

In the near term, I have a problem calling Helium-3 a "resource", since we demonstrably know nothing useful yet in regards to thermonuclear fusion.

However, there is an awful lot of titanium, aluminum, and iron we could extract from lunar rocks, given a sufficiently-concentrated source of energy. Solar panels as we know them today are NOT that concentrated source of energy.

If there really is true water ice (and not some other idiotic hydrogen compound) near the lunar poles, then we have real fresh water ice we could mine and use on the moon.

Big "if", though. I DO NOT trust our remote sensing so far. Ground truth has always been quite different. There is NO reason to believe that has changed.

GW

Grypd · 2016-07-05 02:30:53

True we will have to actually explore the Moon there is only so much sensors from satellites can do. Still another technique possible on the Moon is to use silicon and Titanium and create mirrors to concentrate light to use it either as a crude cutting tool or more effectively as a means to melt materials.

Solar panels on the Moon are not like the terrestrial version though the ones we will use are inefficient it matters not as the amount of energy available is simply staggering a one metre square panel will generate 300 + watts of power even with our inefficiency.

GW Johnson · 2016-07-08 10:15:02

My contention is that we have not yet really "explored" the moon. No one has done deep drilling, no one has done much of anything to verify or deny the presumptive water deposits near the poles (those are detections of hydrogen in some sort of compounds, presumed or assumed to be water, but not known to be water).

Real "exploration" answers two deceptively-simple questions: (1) what all is there? and (2) where exactly is it? (There is an implied "are you sure about your results?" associated with them.) While that wording sounds like Texas slang, I mean them EXACTLY as they are worded.

Getting real answers to those two questions is a lot harder than most people think. This will require sending prospecting missions to sites all over the moon. These will need at the very least deep-drilling rigs.

You cannot answer the questions with remote-sensing (too unreliable, ground truth has been significantly-different nearly 100% of the time). Nor can you answer them by shuffling around in the surface dirt for a few pounds of loose surface rocks.

Actually, the same is true for any body we go to explore, not just the moon.

GW

Last edited by GW Johnson (2016-07-08 10:16:51)

Tom Kalbfus · 2016-07-09 06:58:18

What about sending a tele-presence robot to the surface of the Moon? The robots at this level of technology can stand up and walk on the moon, without direct input from remote human operators. the controller simply tells the robot where to go, and the robot goes there as best as it can. The Moon varies in distance from 356,500 km to 406,700 km, the speed of light is 299,792,458 meters per second. Divide the lunar distance by the speed of light and you get 1.19 light seconds to 1.36 light seconds. The time delay that occurs when you send a command to a lunar robot and the time you see results is from 2.38 seconds to 2.72 seconds. My idea is you have a bipedal robot on the Moon, the operator on Earth is wearing a suit. The robot sends a 3-d picture of its surroundings, and the operator in his suit moves around in the virtual 3-d landscape, and indicates where he wants to go and what he wants to do, followed 2.38 to 2.72 seconds later by the actual robot, If the human operator moves in a certain direction and virtually picks up a rock, the robot interprets that as a command to move in that direction and pick up that particular rock, and it will use its own judgment on how to navigate the landscape and how to grip and pick up the rock the operator tried to pick up. The operator will always pause between actions to see how the robot does.

SpaceNut · 2016-07-09 11:42:53

While we can do most of the exploration mining and such robotically its stil going to take mans presence to do more than just find and process as its going to require craftsman to form it into something that is useful....and unless its extremely valualbe there is no real return to earth market for most of what the moon is made of after trophy samples....

GW Johnson · 2016-07-09 13:29:21

I've got nothing against robot or tele-operated equipment. I think bipedal robot walking is not mature enough for this application (too many still fall down and cannot get back up). Robots that roll on tracks or wheels might be far more reliable for us on the moon.

But that choice misses entirely the point I was trying to make in post 54 just above: we need to drill and dig very deep. I have never seen any sort of robot or tele-operated or even manned space exploration equipment designs that could do that, not yet anyway. But that's what we really need.

GW

SpaceNut · 2018-08-21 16:53:01

Well we now have more info on the poles for finding of water ice in the shadows of craters as Scientists find direct evidence of ice on the Moon: Researchers from the University of Hawaii led the study and they believe the ice likely came from comets that smashed into the Moon years ago.

There's Water Ice on the Moon—but Less Than Expected

Ceres, Mercury, and the Moon all tilt slightly in relation to the Sun, leaving some craters in permanent shadow. These regions can be extremely cold, down to -261.67 Fahrenheit (-163.15 Celsius)—the only heat they receive is the heat from reflected sunlight and from the celestial bodies themselves. You’d think these regions would accumulate some solids, like water ice—and they have, on Mercury and Ceres. But scientists only had somewhat ambiguous evidence of the same ice on the Moon, thanks to the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO).

Now lets start getting there is the next issue...

SpaceNut · 2019-01-01 15:51:21

Zubrin's moon direct plan is calling for mining of the water ice in the polar craters of the moon to leverage for insitu resource for the plan as put forth on the from page cover story on how to make use of 3 Falcon 9 Heavies to do a moon direct mission.

Mars_B4_Moon · 2022-06-15 04:40:25

China, US racing to make billions from mining lunar minerals
https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editor … 2003778498

In regards to working languages sometimes I'm reminded as to how the Roman Empire even Latin or Italian isn't really a thing anymore ont he world stage, English is global now and as colonization expanded Spanish was the language that became most widespread. Mars may have its own working language be it Marsglish Chinglish Engrish or whatever peoples go there to explore and settle, the colony nations that first went to Mars might have little power over their cultural revolt.

Mars_B4_Moon · 2022-06-25 05:33:24

NASA Is Working With Startups to Harvest the Moon’s Resources

https://www.wsj.com/video/series/wsj-ex … 6634F68D41

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#51 2016-06-27 10:54:09

Re: A private sector Lunar Mining colony - Getting the money

#52 2016-06-27 17:56:01

Re: A private sector Lunar Mining colony - Getting the money

#53 2016-07-05 02:30:53

Re: A private sector Lunar Mining colony - Getting the money

#54 2016-07-08 10:15:02

Re: A private sector Lunar Mining colony - Getting the money

#55 2016-07-09 06:58:18

Re: A private sector Lunar Mining colony - Getting the money

#56 2016-07-09 11:42:53

Re: A private sector Lunar Mining colony - Getting the money

#57 2016-07-09 13:29:21

Re: A private sector Lunar Mining colony - Getting the money

#58 2018-08-21 16:53:01

Re: A private sector Lunar Mining colony - Getting the money

#59 2019-01-01 15:51:21

Re: A private sector Lunar Mining colony - Getting the money

#60 2022-06-15 04:40:25

Re: A private sector Lunar Mining colony - Getting the money

#61 2022-06-25 05:33:24

Re: A private sector Lunar Mining colony - Getting the money

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