When a space plane is invented the Moon will become viable to ecconomic development and the Moon has more than a million times the amount of exploitable minnerals as the earth does. Should we go and take the minnerals from the moon?
2006-07-11 04:42:35 · 11 answers · asked by Kip Thorne 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Engineering
Mining the moon would not be a bad idea, but only if a permanent manned presence was available. The minerals that would be obtained need to be used in two ways:
1) The sustaining and expansion of the manned colony. In order for the colony to prosper, it will need to be built with locally available materials after the initial stage. The costs of tranporting material to the moon from earth would be prohibited.
2) The construction of orbiting facilities. Using something like a mass driver, minerals can be launched from the lunar surface without too much difficulty, needing only to reach a velocity of roughly 2.5 miles per second for escape velocity. With the nearly non-existent atmosphere of the moon, matter could be shot out of a long accelerating tube where all of the energy expended is there. The material from the moon then can be used to build orbiting facilities in earth or lunar orbit, or at any of the LaGrange points.
Currently, the costs are prohibitive. Even if the moon were solid gold, it would not be profitable. But in the expansion of a manned presence in space, the idea of lunar mining must be considered.
2006-07-11 05:01:21 · answer #1 · answered by Ѕємι~Мαđ ŠçїєŋŧιѕТ 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It takes a huge amount of energy to move material from the moon to earth, in addition to safety risks and other problems. So it's not economical to mine the moon.
The one potential exception is "mining" for helium-3. A certain kind of nuclear fusion is easier to do with helium-3, which exists naturally on the moon but not on the earth. Nobody has made a viable fusion reactor of that type yet, but if somebody did, it might be worth the trouble to go to the moon for the fuel.
Of course, if you were living on the moon, you would almost certainly mine for resources there to avoid having to bring them from earth. NASA has drawn up plans for a moon base that would do just that, although no word yet on whether it will actually get funded.
2006-07-11 04:55:55 · answer #2 · answered by gunghoiguana 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know about mining for minerals, but I like the idea of getting solar power from the moon.
Set up huge solar arrays (nobody could complain about aesthetics) and beam the energy back to Earth via microwaves. Capital costs for solar panels are still huge, however, so this is in the future. But there is much more available solar energy on the moon since the atmosphere is so thin.
2006-07-11 07:04:49 · answer #3 · answered by Steve S 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, if advances prove it to be profitable and feasible. I think it would be great to have a little colony up there and try experimenting with growing things on the moon and the like. It could be a testing ground for future space colonies and economic efforts in space. My fear is though that efforts to mine the moon could turn into one of those NASA projects that gets billions of dollars dumped on it and then the project doesn't go anywhere. Still, there have been plenty of projects like that in NASA that end up inventing or developing something else that proves to be great back here on earth for something seemingly unrelated.
2006-07-11 04:50:24 · answer #4 · answered by jshclhn 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are more necessary minerals on the moon than all the earth 10 times over.
For that matter there is more iron on some asteroids than in all the earth.
2006-07-11 04:47:36 · answer #5 · answered by markelliott32 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, we should, and yes, it'll probably happen. I'm not sure what the moon has to offer, but if it's economically beneficial (meaning it doesn't cost more to go up there and do it than it would to mine something else), then yes, certainly. Besides, scientists will be excavating the moon's surface regardless of it's composition. Look at all that's to be discovered!
2006-07-11 04:46:07 · answer #6 · answered by M 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
a million times? how could htat be when its SMALLER then the earth. economic development on the moon? - i think you think too much
2006-07-11 04:46:17 · answer #7 · answered by Jack Kerouac 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What minerals are up there? Dirt? A US flag and probably a golf ball or two.
2006-07-11 04:46:25 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
To me it's a question of when. We will get there some day.
2006-07-11 04:46:51 · answer #9 · answered by Awesome Bill 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
we will use more energy to carry those resources than those resources we would gather.
2006-07-11 04:45:57 · answer #10 · answered by [Tsuniper-X] 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋