|
Forum: Internet Links Topic: Mighty Space Miners started by: TPRJones Posted by TPRJones on Apr. 25 2012,20:54
< http://dailycaller.com/2012....bal-gdp >Welcome to the fucking future! Finally! Posted by GORDON on Apr. 26 2012,04:37
I hope the first failures won't stifle the concept.
Posted by TPRJones on Apr. 26 2012,05:09
The specific folks behind this one aren't known for giving up too easily.
Posted by GORDON on Apr. 26 2012,05:25
Seems like the moon base, first, is a more logical progression. Shallower gravity well with which to go after the asteroids.
Posted by TPRJones on Apr. 26 2012,06:10
Nah, moon base is still steeper than you really want. If you want to establish a base of operations, you'd be best going with L4 and L5. Stable, nor gravity well, at a reasonable distance, and they collect junk you can sift through for useful minerals.But going for an asteroid and making it profitable will b a much more important goal in terms of economic motivation for future exploration of space. Posted by GORDON on Apr. 26 2012,06:40
I know what you mean by L4/L5, but wouldn't the moon be a better home base, as you can tunnel down and have all of the natural radiation shielding you want, not to mention H3, H2O, mysterious black monoliths, etc. Put your refinery on the moon and ship the shit to Earth with maglev sleds, and use L4/L5 as your base for retrieving asteroids.
Posted by TPRJones on Apr. 26 2012,06:58
Oh, don't get me wrong, a moon base would be great, too. For all the reasons you mention and more. But it wouldn't be a Gateway to the Solar System nearly as efficiently as L4/L5 would be.
Posted by GORDON on Apr. 26 2012,07:02
Well you certainly aren't going to build an interplanetary ship on the moon. For that a LaGrange Point is perfect.
Posted by GORDON on Apr. 26 2012,13:43
Speaking of moon bases, I have an idea on how to build one.A few robots that can perform simple tasks: - Grade a field. - Bore a hole. - Excavate a subterranean room. - Panel/melt/otherwise reinforce a regolith wall. I would love to build models of those things as a proof of concept, but I don't have the engineering skillz. I'd love to write the code for it, though. Purely autonomous robots... not this remote-control-Mars-rover bullshit. A few soft landings on the moon, and 6 months later you have a large underground chamber ready to act as living quarters, storage, radiation shielding, or whatever for incoming colonists. It's so simple and obvious. Posted by TPRJones on Jun. 13 2013,06:39
Posted by Malcolm on Jun. 13 2013,07:44
(TPRJones @ Apr. 26 2012,07:09) QUOTE The specific folks behind this one aren't known for giving up too easily. First time for everything. |