Plans are already underway to harvest this material from the lunar surface where lunar water will also be available from its craters
@3volver@lemmy.world
link
fedilink
English
45M

How do you suggest producing a significant amount of thrust in a vacuum using the sun?

@optissima@lemmy.world
link
fedilink
English
-15M

Though, of course, simple scientific curiosity may not justify the enormous cost of the undertaking. That’s where commercial interest comes in.

That’s not what this is about, the author doesn’t care about that, all they see is a finite, exploitable resource that will line their pockets.

However, to answer your question, we already have that technology.

AutistoMephisto
link
fedilink
English
05M

Can a solar sail propel an object to relativistic speeds? The whole point of space travel is to go to other planets at a speed fast enough that the people going there will not be dead or elderly by the time they reach their destination. The only way to do that is by achieving light speed or damn near it. I do not want to board a solar sail vessel bound for Proxima Centauri b (4.22ly) and be dust by the time I get there.

@3volver@lemmy.world
link
fedilink
English
35M

Solar sails don’t produce a significant amount of thrust, you didn’t answer my question.

@optissima@lemmy.world
link
fedilink
English
15M

Nuclear, or if you want space stuff, build a station at the Lagrange point and sling from there? I don’t need to be an expert in launch solutions to know that we shouldn’t speculate mining the moon till it’s well researched and that we have more accessible options here for the forseeable future with solar as my choice of example, so let’s not jump the gun on another finite resource?

@3volver@lemmy.world
link
fedilink
English
15M

You can’t launch a rocket using solar. Nuclear is exactly what helium-3 will provide. Speculation is the first step of exploiting the Moon’s value.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3#Nuclear_fuel

Do your research before acting like you know what you’re writing about. There are so many things to complain about when it comes to capitalism, this is not one of them.

@optissima@lemmy.world
link
fedilink
English
1
edit-2
5M

I am referring to commercial speculation, and I literally laid this out in the second sentence, thanks!

Create a post

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.


Our Rules


  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related content.
  3. Be excellent to each another!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed

Approved Bots


  • 1 user online
  • 191 users / day
  • 586 users / week
  • 1.37K users / month
  • 4.49K users / 6 months
  • 1 subscriber
  • 7.41K Posts
  • 84.7K Comments
  • Modlog