The practicality of lunar tourism is a function not just of consumer interest, but by the physical realities of the mission. These include orbital mechanics, energy requirements and mission duration. The orbital transfer used, for reasons of safety, would be the same as used in Apollo, the Hohmann orbital transfer, and from that energy and fuel requirements may be calculated. The Moon and the launch site on Earth (or the position of a Space Station, if it was from that that departure for the Moon occurred) would need to be in precise alignment.
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→
Although anything can be done, and several nations would like to match the American accomplishment of landing men on the Moon, the greater question is “Why?”
The American accomplishment of the Apollo missions simply cannot be matched. Repeating something done in 1969 with a flight in 2019, fifty years later is not matching Apollo. It is repeating it, with all the advantages of advanced technology. Fifty years worth. It is like doing a cattle drive of the 1870s, in 2015. Continue reading Is a manned return to the Moon practical?→
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.→
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?→
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?→
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?→
