Lava tubes are natural formations which follow volcanic activity. A stream of lava flows down an incline, the outside freezes while the interior continues flowing, until the interior is an empty tube. These tubes exist on Earth, and on the Moon and Mars.
On the Moon, these tubes are usually located near the boundaries of highland areas with Mares. Various popular articles have touted the possibility that future lunar settlements could house the habitats inside lava tubes. Tubes larger than 1000 feet in cross section may exist, buried under a hundred meters of hard rock. Continue reading Lava tubes on the Moon→
The Moon is lacking the basic ingredients of life, therefore it will never be a world with life.
For any manned colony in space, the elements of oxygen, carbon and nitrogen are essential to life. These elements are common on Mars. This directly means Mars is a plausible site for manned colonies. It is also why the Moon is Continue reading The Moon is Lacking the Ingredients of Life→
In the picture you can see a box or “Fortress,”, possibly built by ancient aliens. Why has NASA hidden this from us? How long have they known about it? What else have they hidden?
Answer.
It’s just one more dull, uninteresting pile of basaltic rock with a layer of moon dirt and dust piled on top. Nobody has hidden anything. It just happens to be shaped crudely similar to a box, therefore some people may choose to build a myth on top of this natural formation. Then they try to fool others into a NASA Conspiracy hoax.
This is an interesting subject that I found while looking for surface anomalies that could provide a basis for a plot or scene – the crash sites of the Saturn boosters. The LRO found the Apollo fourth stages. And they are not normal craters. Continue reading Secrets of the Saturn IVB craters.→
Seven percent of meteors are metallic. Seven percent of the meteors hitting the Moon have been metallic. It is known that by far the largest percentage of this hit with sufficient velocity to vaporize, and their metal became yet another layer on surface dust and dirt. But why wouldn’t there be a few that didn’t vaporize?
One such meteor was found sitting on the surface on Mars. Of course, there is some air there to brake the incoming mass, as is the case on Earth. But could such a meteor be located on the Moon? Continue reading Could a metallic meteor be found on the Moon?→
Radar is used. Single polarity beams are focused on specific areas, then the returns are examined. The more mixed polarities in the returns (CPR) the rougher the area is.
Helium 3 is found exclusively in the lunar regolith, where it is implanted by the solar wind. This means that the molecules head for the moon from the sun at high velocity, hit the dirt and embed themselves directly into a solid object on the surface. Typically this is what we would consider a dust particle. The smaller particles, less than 50 nm in size will show the highest concentration due to their surface to volume ratios. It is reported that mechanical agitation of the soil can release the he3 quite easily.
The general idea is to not add heat to the environment where it’s so cold that the moon has saved up ice for us over billions of years. Add heat, and the goodies evaporate. Industrial scale engines and machines which create lots of waste heat may be out. In turn that means that a self contained rover might be a problem. What mechanical machine could we make that would work at 80 kelvin? Continue reading How could Lunar Polar ice be mined?→
Ecology is defined as “The branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings.” One part of the MotM plot is Eli’s commitment to maintaining the Moon in a pure and untouched condition. Like many others, he misunderstands what this means.
Preservation of useful attributes of the Moon for future generations has to be figured from first principles. What are they?
In this post I use the typical person’s definition of “alien”, some bug eyed thing with oversized brains and flying saucers, giant spaceships, whatever, and likely with two legs. There are other and more logical or likely constructs, but we’ll stick to the typical fantasy creation.
We would have the ability to know, but first we would have to look.
Helium 3 is found exclusively in the lunar regolith, where it is implanted by the solar wind. Many scientific proposals and papers on lunar resource mining and extraction are completely impractical. They represent attempts at adaptation of methods used on Earth. On Earth, chemicals such as fluoride or cyanide may be used in aqueous solutions Continue reading Where might lunar helium 3 deposits be best?→
The viewer enables zooming in to 1.5′ resolution, and allows panning and exploring the crater.
This crater is about 26W, 46N, and it is of interest for a simple reason: There have been many recent and historical reports of odd phenomena in the general vicinity of the crater–blue glow, darkening and red, unusually bright appearance, as examples.
Here’s one take on the matter: A medium power laser is positioned on a hill overlooking the areas where the ice is located. Either a natural path exists nearby or a rail is laid alongside. Line of sight, the laser is aimed at the rover and heats the Continue reading Mine Lunar Ice?→
