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Water Found Deep Inside the Moon

news.nationalgeographic.com

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Re: Water Found Deep Inside the Moon

#91
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the 0-step should be a sort of treaty to decide which set of laws and jurisdiction should have a space colony on the moon. Not easily solvable

It wouldn't really be relevant. For why, read The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. TLDR: The moon colony will be able to make its own rules and keep earth at bay.

I'm sorry but this is just silly. Just because something happened in a novel published more than 50 years ago does not at all make it likely to happen in real life. The Moon is much less habitable than we thought it would be in the 60s, meaning any moon colony will be very dependent on the Earth for the foreseeable future and the rock launcher wouldn't be bulidable with the kind of infrastructure in the novel.

Re: Water Found Deep Inside the Moon

#92
post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the backup option is only for the wealthy, leaving the rest in a worse state. Like most technology, it flows from the rich to the poor eventually as it becomes cheaper. The important part you omitted is that it leaves the rest in a worse relative state. Their absolute state is no worse, and likely better. Arguing against a backup for civilization (or more appropriately, a backup for the species) because it will be…

Why is humanity's survival important?

It's important for the exact same reason you're able to ask that question. Without humanity, who asks why? Humanity is, to the best of our knowledge, the best and possibly only chance of increasing understanding of the universe. I care about that, as well as about our species generally in what is likely an evolved and chemically reinforced way. At some point that may be less true, and I would care less (but would still care).

At a meta level, if you truly don't care about the survival of your species (even if only through the survival of your own relatives and loved ones), you're an evolutionary dead end.

Re: Water Found Deep Inside the Moon

#94

I've always been more excited about a Moon colony than a Mars one. I mean, compared to Mars, the Moon is ridiculously close. Many of the same benefits Musk seeks (backup for Civilization, excitement) for a fraction of the cost. Low gravity and atmosphere on a dome would be more complicated, but again, compared to Mars, it's right there . It would be a more humble and realistic first step, IMO.

Closeness aside, the gravity on mars complicates a lot of things from landing to taking off - which currently dictates that this is a one-way trip.

A moon base is much simpler in both scenarios and return trips are achievable (has already been done FORTY YEARS AGO).

Re: Water Found Deep Inside the Moon

#95

This was last month. Another analysis this month by a different organization reached the opposite conclusion. [1]: https://scripps.ucsd.edu/news/analysis-rusty-lunar-rock-sugg...

Lets hope they don't find oil there...

If they did then it would essentially be proof of extraterrestrial life, no?

Re: Water Found Deep Inside the Moon

#96

I've always been more excited about a Moon colony than a Mars one. I mean, compared to Mars, the Moon is ridiculously close. Many of the same benefits Musk seeks (backup for Civilization, excitement) for a fraction of the cost. Low gravity and atmosphere on a dome would be more complicated, but again, compared to Mars, it's right there . It would be a more humble and realistic first step, IMO.

People way underestimate how far away Mars is. To give you a sense of scale, the settlers of Jamestown came from London. As the crow flies, that's about 3,790 miles. If we treat that as equivalent to settling on Mars, then for them to settle on "the moon" would have been a mere 26 miles from London. Perhaps Canvey Island on the River Thames. If we can't manage settlements that close, we really aren't ready yet for th…

Replying just to let you know I never thought for one second I'd see Canvey Island referenced on Hacker News.

Re: Water Found Deep Inside the Moon

#97
post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People didn't start using ad blockers, because sites had a couple well placed ads. If everyone is blocking your ads, maybe it's time to change all those reasons you gave me for "how they work".

I think you misattributed or misundertood my intention here. I am in now way arguing that those more and more terrible ads did not cause the surge in ad blocker usage, and what I said is not affected in any way by how many people are using ad blockers on NG. Fact is, revenue per ad viewed has been crashing down for all type of ad. A site like NG can either block their free access and force a subscribe (lose attention…

How about, beautiful, site specific, non-intrusive, relevant ads? Charge less if you have to. Enough with the Tabula bullshit, and Amazon selling me something I already purchased(why is this even a thing). You'd be surprised how many loyal people to a site would be willing to white list, knowing the advertising isn't going to shit on their experience.

Re: Water Found Deep Inside the Moon

#98

This was last month. Another analysis this month by a different organization reached the opposite conclusion. [1]: https://scripps.ucsd.edu/news/analysis-rusty-lunar-rock-sugg...

Lets hope they don't find oil there...

As you probably know, that's impossible since fossil fuels (as the name suggests) are formed from the remains of prehistoric organisms. Since the Moon is lifeless, it has no fossil fuels.

But I wouldn't mind if the moon did experience a resource rush (unless it sparked a conflict). At least we would finally get to see a moon base.

Re: Water Found Deep Inside the Moon

#99
post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is humanity's survival important?

It's important for the exact same reason you're able to ask that question. Without humanity, who asks why? Humanity is, to the best of our knowledge, the best and possibly only chance of increasing understanding of the universe. I care about that, as well as about our species generally in what is likely an evolved and chemically reinforced way. At some point that may be less true, and I would care less (but would sti…

Survival of humanity isn't important universally. The universe doesn't care. But it's the most important thing for humans.

Re: Water Found Deep Inside the Moon

#100
post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People didn't start using ad blockers, because sites had a couple well placed ads. If everyone is blocking your ads, maybe it's time to change all those reasons you gave me for "how they work".

I think you misattributed or misundertood my intention here. I am in now way arguing that those more and more terrible ads did not cause the surge in ad blocker usage, and what I said is not affected in any way by how many people are using ad blockers on NG. Fact is, revenue per ad viewed has been crashing down for all type of ad. A site like NG can either block their free access and force a subscribe (lose attention…

If they continue down the current path, they are going to die one way or another. At some point the people working there are going to stop being proud of their work when it's presented in such a shit fashion and they will stop writing for NG.

I understand that business needs may require a publication to lower their standards but it seems like they have dropped below where the floor should be. When I load the page, there's a giant Microsoft video at the top of the screen. Microsoft should be ashamed of that as well.

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