why can't you weld on the moon?

Answer 1

Lack of oxygen. Also, I'm not there.

Answer 2

actually, you could weld better on the moon than on the earth. oxygen is what causes many problems with a weld..that's why you have a flux or an inert gas in some welding processes.

what might be a problem is generating enough electrical current to make an arc. batteries would only last so long, and the types of generator you'd need to produce the electricity you need require a lot of oxygen to run. but if you could get the current, you could weld just fine.

Answer 3

I've never heard that it's impossible to weld on the moon before. i don't see why you wouldn't be able to. and i am a trained welder (stick, TIG, and oxy-acetylene). oxygen isn't required for all types of welding and you can bring it in a tank for oxy-acetylene. in fact, i think it would be a better weld because you wouldn't have to worry about as many imperfections getting in due to the lack of a real atmosphere. wow, the people answering here really have no clue what welding is. take the guy below me for instance. he assumes that all heat is from fire. and neglects that some elements can keep burning even when no oxygen is present because they generate their own oxygen. trust me, you can weld on the moon. when you're welding using TIG/MIG, you're using a gas to shield all the oxygen out because it will weaken the welding joint. Typically, argon is used but any inert gas will do. Argon is good because it's heavier than air so you don't have to worry about it just floating away and letting oxygen in.

Answer 4

You could weld using T.I.G. as it uses electrocstatic forces to transfer metal to the weld pool and is not gravity dependent. The welds would be beautiful in an atmosphere free environment.

M.I.G. and stick welding would have some difficulty in a low gravity environment depending on the amperage used. It would be possible but a little messy, the weld pool would be prone to more spattering and beading up due to surface tension.

The only other issue is that some metals, such as magnesium, boil in a vacuum. But most other metals are fine.

Answer 5

Well, here comes my opinions.

First of all, I don't think it's impossible to weld on moon.It just might be more demanding.

The fact that moon has no atmosphere affects only into need of using protective gas or substances to prevent "air's' impurities and oxygen to react with heating process. So protetctive substances are not needed. Electrical arc welding systems might also be more demanding since vacuum (moon's atmosphere) have so good electric resistance.

Finally, moon's low temperature may affect also , causing metals to experience large thermal enlargement and shrinking.
welding joint cools rapidly and metals may not necessarily form strong union.

Answer 6

You can, but you'd have to use electric arc/mig welding maybe. Although I'm not even sure oxy-acetylene wouldn't actually work as your providing the oxygen from a tank anyway.
Also, specialist welding of certain materials demands that the weld is not done in air but in a unreactive atmosphere which I would have thought effectively is a vacuum with regards to the effect of a inert gas on the join.

Answer 7

Very interesting question!
I think you can not weld on the moon, as there no atmosphere.
In electrical arc welding, the electric current flows through the atmosphere. As the resistance of the ionized atmosphere is high, intense heat is produced which fuses the metals together. On the moon the electric current will flow through vacuum, and since the resistance will be low, heat produced will not be sufficient.

Answer 8

I personally have welded on the moon many a time, it was great fun too

Answer 9

Weld the moon on to what?

Answer 10

welding needs heating
heating needs burning
burning needs air
air contains O2
O2 is required for burning
as the atmosphere of moon does not contain O2
welding is not possible

Answer 11

Why couldn't you? Welding uses an electrical arc and does not require oxygen..arc welding has no flame, and is done under water all of the time.