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To: presidio9

Not a huge problem, sending water to the moon is relatively cheap and simply, ya just lob a big chunk of it (ice) to the moon, and let it crash there.


2 posted on 10/19/2006 6:42:44 AM PDT by Paradox (American Conservatives: Keeping the world safe for Liberalism.)
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To: Paradox

True. It's just the "lobbing" part that's the hitch.


3 posted on 10/19/2006 6:45:00 AM PDT by theDentist (Qwerty ergo typo : I type, therefore I misspelll.)
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To: Paradox

It costs about $100K per kilo to "lob" something into orbit, let alone sending it to the Moon.


5 posted on 10/19/2006 6:46:18 AM PDT by Junior (Losing faith in humanity one person at a time.)
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To: Paradox

Simple....you just use my plan for terraforming Mars.....

Oh but I havent patented it yet...sorry.


6 posted on 10/19/2006 6:46:42 AM PDT by Vaquero ("An armed society is a polite society" Robert A. Heinlein)
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To: Paradox

Wouldn't the ice burn up before it gets into space? And if it is going to be shielded by the rocket, that would seem to make it very expensive.


48 posted on 10/19/2006 7:49:19 PM PDT by Jedi Master Pikachu ( The BBC HYS is cruddy: many typed comments and not one posted (non-offensive).)
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To: Paradox; presidio9; theDentist; Kirkwood; Junior; Jedi Master Pikachu
Not a huge problem, sending water to the moon is relatively cheap and simply, ya just lob a big chunk of it (ice) to the moon, and let it crash there.

As others have pointed out, this is both cost prohibitive and difficult from the bottom of a gravity well like Earth.  As Kirkwood suggested the best plan is to get available water/ice someplace else in the solar system and deliver it to the Moon.  A comet is a clear possibility, but there would be huge energy management issues.  Those suckers are moving and getting one to impact without messing things up would be a trick. 

I've read a good bit about the expected composiition of the asteroids in the main asteroid belt and there's supposed to be a lot of recoverable water/ice there.  Getting out to the asteroids should actually be easier than landing on Mars.  I think we'll do the belt first, then think about whether we really need to bother with Mars, except for scientific purposes.  There's supposed to be a lot more in the belt that should be easy to recover, including lots of elements we may need alternative sources for as more and more terestrial resources get used up or, more likely, locked up by environmental regulations or our political or economic rivals.  And there are supposed to be both precious metals (gold, platinum) and exotic elements, even things we've only made small quantities of in labs, in abundance.  I want us to go there ASAP and I think that's where the commercial ventures with vision will first strike it rich.

Plus, once we get the knack of going out there and moving those rocks around they will make dandy presents to drop on those political and economic rivals.  Particularly the big iron ones, with just the right targeting equipment.  "Smart rocks," in other words.  They make really pretty holes and there's no nasty radiation to bother everyone.

66 posted on 10/20/2006 11:21:11 AM PDT by Phsstpok (Often wrong, but never in doubt)
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