Vast new stores of water reported on the moon • Hacker News Board

Re: Vast new stores of water reported on the moon

#31

Post by danparsonson » Fri, Apr 14, 2023, 6:24 AM UTC

CSSer wrote: post #21

danparsonson wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Worried about disturbing the ecosystem?

The moon is about 1/4th the size of the Earth, or about as wide as the United States. The moon also significantly impacts our tides here on Earth. Now, the optimist in me would say there's no way little old humanity could manage to find a way to screw that up. The pessimist in me notes that in roughly a hundred years we've managed to push our planet to the brink of ecological disaster, so to answer your question: yes…

Ah well then pardon my snark - of course we humans are very determined when it comes to exploiting our environment but a crude look at the figures might set your mind at rest:

Moon's mass - about 0.7x10^23 kgs

Global annual iron ore output - about 2.5x10^12 kgs (per [1])

One over the other - 2.8x10^10 years

So on the order of a billion years to remove one percent of it. And that's assuming we develop the same kind of demand for moon iron as we have here on Earth - so we have some time to think about it at least.

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_iron_or...

Re: Vast new stores of water reported on the moon

#32

Post by voz_ » Fri, Apr 14, 2023, 6:28 AM UTC

jiggawatts wrote: post #25

gnarbarian wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

prison mining colony. but seriously, it could be used as a manufacturing and industrial hub for deep space operations like asteroid mining. think about it like this. if we can manufacture things on the moon we can launch things for almost nothing into both earth orbit and the outer solar system due to how the orbital mechanics work. this means we can build a million probes and send them all over the solar system, man…

Turtles all the way down. “Why do we need a space station?” “As practice for getting to the Moon!” “What can we do on the Moon?” “Build spaceships for getting to the asteroid belt!” “Why do we need to get to the asteroid belt?” “So we can make components for the Mars colonies!” “Why do we need a Mars colony?” …

Because Terrans are the greatest species ever. A single planet is literally all our eggs in one basket.

Re: Vast new stores of water reported on the moon

#33

Post by gnarbarian » Fri, Apr 14, 2023, 6:28 AM UTC

jiggawatts wrote: post #25

gnarbarian wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

prison mining colony. but seriously, it could be used as a manufacturing and industrial hub for deep space operations like asteroid mining. think about it like this. if we can manufacture things on the moon we can launch things for almost nothing into both earth orbit and the outer solar system due to how the orbital mechanics work. this means we can build a million probes and send them all over the solar system, man…

Turtles all the way down. “Why do we need a space station?” “As practice for getting to the Moon!” “What can we do on the Moon?” “Build spaceships for getting to the asteroid belt!” “Why do we need to get to the asteroid belt?” “So we can make components for the Mars colonies!” “Why do we need a Mars colony?” …

more people is better than fewer people. it means more of humanity, more discoveries, artwork, music, philosophy.

the more we spread out the more freedom we have to pursue our individual dreams and aspirations. (I believe individual freedom is inversely proportional to population density)

the more we spread out the less likely we are to become extinct in a single catastrophic event.

the instinct to explore discover and expand is intrinsically human. Implying humans should stay on earth is about as silly as thinking humans never should have left a small valley in Africa that could only support 100 people.

to stay is to die and become extinct. that might be preferable to some. and you are free to do so yourself, but please don't prevent those of us who have that unquenchable fire from pursuing that which will set our entire species free.

Re: Vast new stores of water reported on the moon

#34

Post by starbase » Fri, Apr 14, 2023, 6:28 AM UTC

The more we learn, the more hospitable the universe turns out to be.

Re: Vast new stores of water reported on the moon

#35

Post by q7xvh97o2pDhNrh » Fri, Apr 14, 2023, 6:31 AM UTC

jiggawatts wrote: post #25

gnarbarian wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

prison mining colony. but seriously, it could be used as a manufacturing and industrial hub for deep space operations like asteroid mining. think about it like this. if we can manufacture things on the moon we can launch things for almost nothing into both earth orbit and the outer solar system due to how the orbital mechanics work. this means we can build a million probes and send them all over the solar system, man…

Turtles all the way down. “Why do we need a space station?” “As practice for getting to the Moon!” “What can we do on the Moon?” “Build spaceships for getting to the asteroid belt!” “Why do we need to get to the asteroid belt?” “So we can make components for the Mars colonies!” “Why do we need a Mars colony?” …

You know, they used to say the same thing about big mountains, right?

Here's a slightly older take on it from that era:

"""

People ask me, 'What is the use of climbing Mount Everest?' and my answer must at once be, 'It is of no use.'

There is not the slightest prospect of any gain whatsoever. Oh, we may learn a little about the behaviour of the human body at high altitudes, and possibly medical men may turn our observation to some account for the purposes of aviation.

But otherwise nothing will come of it. We shall not bring back a single bit of gold or silver, not a gem, nor any coal or iron...

If you cannot understand that there is something in man which responds to the challenge of this mountain and goes out to meet it, that the struggle is the struggle of life itself upward and forever upward, then you won't see why we go.

What we get from this adventure is just sheer joy. And joy is, after all, the end of life. We do not live to eat and make money. We eat and make money to be able to live. That is what life means and what life is for.

"""

(That's from George Mallory, for the curious.)

Re: Vast new stores of water reported on the moon

#36

Post by gnarbarian » Fri, Apr 14, 2023, 6:32 AM UTC

q7xvh97o2pDhNrh wrote: post #35

jiggawatts wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Turtles all the way down. “Why do we need a space station?” “As practice for getting to the Moon!” “What can we do on the Moon?” “Build spaceships for getting to the asteroid belt!” “Why do we need to get to the asteroid belt?” “So we can make components for the Mars colonies!” “Why do we need a Mars colony?” …

You know, they used to say the same thing about big mountains, right? Here's a slightly older take on it from that era: """ People ask me, 'What is the use of climbing Mount Everest?' and my answer must at once be, 'It is of no use.' There is not the slightest prospect of any gain whatsoever. Oh, we may learn a little about the behaviour of the human body at high altitudes, and possibly medical men may turn our obser…

you get it.

Re: Vast new stores of water reported on the moon

#37

Post by hulitu » Fri, Apr 14, 2023, 6:35 AM UTC

32gbsd wrote: post #2

Moonbase when?

When they find oil, or cobalt, or rare earths. We have enough water on earth, we don't need the one on the moon. /s

You might remember, Columbus did not go to America for a vacation.

Re: Vast new stores of water reported on the moon

#38

Post by c3534l » Fri, Apr 14, 2023, 6:36 AM UTC

gchaincl wrote: post #8

water does not always mean life then?

If it did, then every comet would be full of life.

Re: Vast new stores of water reported on the moon

#39

Post by anvandare » Fri, Apr 14, 2023, 6:36 AM UTC

jiggawatts wrote: post #25

gnarbarian wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

prison mining colony. but seriously, it could be used as a manufacturing and industrial hub for deep space operations like asteroid mining. think about it like this. if we can manufacture things on the moon we can launch things for almost nothing into both earth orbit and the outer solar system due to how the orbital mechanics work. this means we can build a million probes and send them all over the solar system, man…

Turtles all the way down. “Why do we need a space station?” “As practice for getting to the Moon!” “What can we do on the Moon?” “Build spaceships for getting to the asteroid belt!” “Why do we need to get to the asteroid belt?” “So we can make components for the Mars colonies!” “Why do we need a Mars colony?” …

Earth is a spaceship, unfortunately somehow a bunch of monkeys went rampant and now they're busy tearing up the life support system.

If we can satisfy their (limitless and still growing) hunger for energy and resources by exploiting the rest of the solar system, the monkeys can be kept pacified. That could buy us time to figure out a more permanent, and balanced, solution.

The great thing about the Moon/Mars/asteroid belt is that we can strip mine it. Can't ruin the ecosystem if there isn't one.

Re: Vast new stores of water reported on the moon

#40

Post by ornitorrincos » Fri, Apr 14, 2023, 6:39 AM UTC

hulitu wrote: post #37

32gbsd wrote: post #2

Moonbase when?

When they find oil, or cobalt, or rare earths. We have enough water on earth, we don't need the one on the moon. /s You might remember, Columbus did not go to America for a vacation.

no, he went to india to wrestle the spice commerce from the portuguese, finding a different continent was not on his plans