I hope the first failures won't stifle the concept.
Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 8:09 am
by TPRJones
The specific folks behind this one aren't known for giving up too easily.
Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 8:25 am
by GORDON
Seems like the moon base, first, is a more logical progression. Shallower gravity well with which to go after the asteroids.
Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 9:10 am
by TPRJones
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.
Edited By TPRJones on 1335445848
Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 9:40 am
by GORDON
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: Thu Apr 26, 2012 9:58 am
by TPRJones
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: Thu Apr 26, 2012 10:02 am
by GORDON
Well you certainly aren't going to build an interplanetary ship on the moon. For that a LaGrange Point is perfect.
Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 4:43 pm
by GORDON
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.