If you could mine the moon, what would you want to mine the most? Would it be for precious metals? Or just rocket fuel? A review of Mining the Sky suggests solar power, with the panels constructed out of lunar materials. It would certainly be useful for getting a reason to go back to the Earth from the Moon.
For that matter, you could do BOTH. Send back fuel and materials used in construction of solar panels, or the panels themselves. They could be emplaced near GEO, and the recovery of a Starship for future launches from the ground, could be used for transport. You would probably want to bring Starships back to Earth for servicing and repairs.
But there's a lot of stuff on the moon that could be useful.
A special orbit could be used for getting back into Earth orbit, with a minimal use of fuel. The moon base could pay for itself.
11/11/24:
The political warfare of recent times has diverted us all from thinking more constructively about our problems. After reviewing the link in this post, I note how much that the hostility seems to distract from real problem-solving. It is a pity.
The reference here was barely mentioned. It so happens that I needed some information about how to extract large amounts of oxygen, as well as other useful materials from the lunar soil. But why re-invent the wheel? Did I not post about this very thing before? It turns out that this particular aspect I did not, or probably not post about it.
But I did re-locate the book I had, and began to consult it. The exact information is not readily apparent yet, but there are ways to extract the materials desired. At least, I am sure of such existence that it must exist somewhere in the literature. Or, it will have to be dredged up somehow.
If you are going to go back to the moon to stay, you're going to need this information. As for the Starship, it is the vehicle needed to transport a large amount of cargo to the lunar surface. This could provide the start to getting a base established that can be expanded in time so that it can do the trick.
As mentioned in an earlier post, the potential exists to extract huge amounts of cargo that could be lifted off the lunar surface with this Starship. I will review the book further to see if I can find more detailed answers for my questions.
The book was a real inspiration. It was nearly forgotten. There's a lesson somewhere in there for anybody to take note of. I know that I have.
11/15/21:
A stroll down memory lane here. This was one of the early influences upon the writings in this here blog way back when. Elon Musk may want to go to Mars, but he may want to visit the moon first. The reason being is that the moon has resources that can be used for his Mars ambitions. Mining the moon for its resources is on par with the spirit of that book.
The moon has abundant amounts of oxygen. It may not be made of cheese, but there's plenty of other good things there. One thing that just came to mind is that the solar wind could be responsible for the water on the moon. What if it was possible to mine vast stretches of the lunar surface for its particles coming via the solar wind? Would it be enough?
Over the course of time, yes. But over the time scales that we live in, which could be a matter of days or weeks, maybe not. It could be made up for, maybe, with the use of the materials at hand, which could capture the charged particles which can be used as a resource.
The solar wind exerts a definite pressure. It is the pressure of charged particles traveling at high velocities. This may be the reason for the water traps on the moon. The highly charged hydrogen nuclei could've been initially trapped and converted into water with the oxygen available on the lunar surface. In cold places where there is no sun, the water froze, and couldn't escape. It accumulated over time. It is believed that there could be vast resevoirs of water trapped in these permanently shaded craters.
I was also thinking that since these are electrically charged particles, could it be possible to mine them for electricity? The particles could induce an electrical current if they could be concentrated somehow. It may also be possible to collect them in the metal hydride devices discussed in an earlier post. The hydrogen could be mined to produce electricity and water.
With these resources, you could leverage them into additional resources, such as food. It is much less energy intensive to launch from the moon than from Earth. If there is sufficient reason to stop at the moon on the way to Mars, it may be worth it.
