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Sea Sorbust
Skeptic Friend
USA
68 Posts |
 Posted - 01/09/2004 : 12:07:58
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Just yesterday, read about new research that indicates that there is almost no water on the Moon: Polar water only. Without water, we cannot have a self-sustaining colony; even a temporary Mir-like base would be difficult.
Have read other research several years ago that estimated a huge amount of water is picked up each year by Earth from impacting watery comets. Many "arguments" suggest that any water-ice on either Mars or the Moon would soon sublimate and so wouldn't exist except for short periods. "Thus," the nay-sayers say, "forget colonization since there won't be any usable water." I ask such nay-sayers: "Then why haven't the water-icy comets sublimated into nothingness long ago?"
I claim that these nay-sayers are in the same catagory as the Global Warming nay-sayers: They don't want there to be accessable water or ice on the Moon, Mars, the Jovian moons, and other planetoids, and so they aim their arguments and research to support the desired conclusion of "no water-ice." This nay-saying technique is nothing new; it is the same research methodology that the tobaco companies and industrial polluters have used for decades to support their desired conclusions.
Is there water-ice on the Moon? It seems to me that this is nearly the same question as "Do water-icy comets smash into the Moon?" The answer to that is: "Yes! They most surely do!" All we need to do is find where the water-ice is and get on with colonization. 
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"This is the forest primeval...."  |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
 Posted - 01/09/2004 : 14:40:25 [Permalink]
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I don't know enough about the subject to give an answer, but it seems to me that a lot more exploration might be in order before any definitive statment could be made.
As for building a base on the moon, water or no, the logestics seem to this layman, daunting. I would think that the sensible way to build it would be underground. Needless to say that this would not be accomplished by a few minimum wage laborers with picks and shovels. And outside of the geological sciences, you will find few high-foreheads interested in earth-moving in general and shovels in particular, my over-educated-but-pretty-damned-smart-anyway brother, included. 
But, it does bring up an interesting question. What sort of machinery would be required to dig on the moon? I'm a fair hand with a cat' and a 'hoe, and both these machines depend upon weight and counter-weight to work properly. Thus their effectivness would be reduced. There is also a matter of power to consider. The science of solar power is yet in it's infantcy. Any large machine would require a lot of electricity (I'm assuming that electric-powered machines are the way to go). And, as everything will have to be imported, something a lot better than the space shuttle will have to be developed.
In short, we ain't nothin' like ready for it and won't be in my lifetime.
However, it is past time that a serious exploration of the moon was undertaken. Thus far, we have only collected a few rocks, planted a flag, and littered the area. Let's indeed get on with it!
I am less enthuestic about manned missions to Mars. All of the failures we've had tell us that the state of the art is not yet up to any sort of human visitts except maybe orbital investigation. And that can be done as well or better with earth-guided machines.
Even though I think that Bush is putting this forth mainly as a political distraction, it's a project past due.
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist! 
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