glend
27-10-2020, 04:07 PM
NASA is claiming to have discovered water on the Moon, It seems to me the Chinese claimed it first when they sent a lander to the south pole.
NASA used the SOFIA 747 aircraft imaging capability to image the wavelength associated with water molecules. Simply sounds like confirmation of what the Chinese claimed. Of course neither is likely to acknowledge the work that the other did. Big talk about mining the water for use by Moon settlements, even for conversion to fuel, but no serious thought on how that would be done, how much is actually accessible, the incredible cost involved, equipment required, and importantly who has rights to it. *
As far as fuel conversion goes, it may well be cheaper to simply dock in low Earth orbit with one of SpaceX's Starship tankers that has carried fuel from Earth. In the near term, a Starship carrying fuel to the Moon seems much more efficient, and lines up with SpaceX developments already being built (as long as they want Methane and Oxygen).
https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2020-10-27/water-molecules-discovered-on-moon-using-nasas-flying-telescope/12806148
A comment made by one of the news readers on Channel Seven Morning Show summed up the views of many: " ...so now we will ruin the Moon as well"..."it's what we do".
Some authority should be established to oversee the off Earth environmental issues that arise through the exploitation of off Earth resources, but historically speaking It will be unlikely to happen, or if established, simply be ignored.*
Your opinions?
NASA used the SOFIA 747 aircraft imaging capability to image the wavelength associated with water molecules. Simply sounds like confirmation of what the Chinese claimed. Of course neither is likely to acknowledge the work that the other did. Big talk about mining the water for use by Moon settlements, even for conversion to fuel, but no serious thought on how that would be done, how much is actually accessible, the incredible cost involved, equipment required, and importantly who has rights to it. *
As far as fuel conversion goes, it may well be cheaper to simply dock in low Earth orbit with one of SpaceX's Starship tankers that has carried fuel from Earth. In the near term, a Starship carrying fuel to the Moon seems much more efficient, and lines up with SpaceX developments already being built (as long as they want Methane and Oxygen).
https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2020-10-27/water-molecules-discovered-on-moon-using-nasas-flying-telescope/12806148
A comment made by one of the news readers on Channel Seven Morning Show summed up the views of many: " ...so now we will ruin the Moon as well"..."it's what we do".
Some authority should be established to oversee the off Earth environmental issues that arise through the exploitation of off Earth resources, but historically speaking It will be unlikely to happen, or if established, simply be ignored.*
Your opinions?