Posted on 10/13/2011 7:29:56 AM PDT by Red Badger
A new map of the moon has uncovered a trove of areas rich in titanium, which could one day be mined.
Lava flows that turned into rocks on the moon are enriched with titanium in concentrations far higher than what is found on Earth. The precious material could be used to construct equipment for lunar and other spacecraft.<
Detailed maps from a robotic NASA science satellite circling the moon show deposits as rich as about 18 percent, planetary geologist Jeffrey Gillis-Davis, with the University of Hawaii, told Discovery News.
“Up to 3 percent is considered high on Earth,” he said.
Why parts of the moon are so flush with titanium is a bit of a mystery, but scientists are taking advantage of the find to figure out the moon’s volcanic history. As the moon cooled and solidified, some elements, like titanium, didn’t mix well so they formed as a separate layer inside. The titanium was later tossed onto the moon’s surface during volcanic eruptions.
“I can identify all these different lava flows because they have a different composition, and that different composition is likely reflecting different sources within the mantle that it came from,” Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter associate project scientist Noah Petro, with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., told Discovery News.
Prized on Earth for its strength, ability to resist corrosion and light weight, titanium on the moon, which is mostly found in mineral called ilmenite, could be mined and processed for future use.
The compound, which contains titanium, iron and oxygen, could be heated to free the oxygen so it could be used for breathing or making rocket fuel. It also is studded with particles from the solar wind, including hydrogen and a rare form of helium, called helium 3, a fuel for a proposed fusion reactor.
“One of the things you want to do before you go back to the moon is figure out where your resources are and what your resources are,” Gillis-Davis said.
“I can identify all these different lava flows because they have a different composition, and that different composition is likely reflecting different sources within the mantle that it came from,” Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter associate project scientist Noah Petro, with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., told Discovery News.
Prized on Earth for its strength, ability to resist corrosion and light weight, titanium on the moon, which is mostly found in mineral called ilmenite, could be mined and processed for future use.
The compound, which contains titanium, iron and oxygen, could be heated to free the oxygen so it could be used for breathing or making rocket fuel. It also is studded with particles from the solar wind, including hydrogen and a rare form of helium, called helium 3, a fuel for a proposed fusion reactor.
“One of the things you want to do before you go back to the moon is figure out where your resources are and what your resources are,” Gillis-Davis said.
The earth is awash in oil. We need the metals.
It’s not impossible. We will need to invent a process other than Kroll or Cambridge to do it, is all, a process that uses lunar materials and solar power.
One we humans have a permanent base on the moon, then real development can start. We do need to work out the basics before we go.
One very useful thing will be a means of storing He3 until someone learns how to burn it in a fusion reactor.
The Moon would be the perfect place for a beanstalk launcher, then we can go to Mars and set up a mine or two there, with a Mars base/beanstalk used as a launch point for asteroid mining.
Why not roll back to a Hunter process variant? No electrolysis needed.
Muzzie outreach and feelgood programs are worth more than piddly American space exploration and exploitation to him and his ilk.
I'd rather they made their decisions based on practical, commercial needs, than political ones.
Awash in oil? I heard we’re going to run out this century sometime. Then it’s back to real horsepower.
Titanium! My Body is 40% Titanium! It’s now worthless!
(Cue up Bender!)
This is the story of just one of what is probably hundreds, or even thousands, of ‘hidden’ places in the world.
How North Dakota Became Saudi Arabia
This story illustrates why the Left is in such a panic over horizontal drilling and fracing.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204226204576602524023932438.html
Here is how they do it, condensed to a couple of minutes;
http://www.northernoil.com/drilling.php
I see....
Developing a TI manufacturing capabilty and spacecraft assembly facility on the moon....
Thaaaat’ll make it cheaper.......
see the post following your last one...
he’s got the right idea!
The only real benefit of returning man to the moon is if we can convince Democrats that it’s the perfect place to experiment with Socialism. They can bring whomever they want to ensure it’s implemented properly.
[ If soetoro has his way, we´ll never go back to the Moon. ]
If you ask “How does the ROP feel about our landing on the moon?” you have your answer.
[ It’s not impossible. We will need to invent a process other than Kroll or Cambridge to do it, is all, a process that uses lunar materials and solar power.
One we humans have a permanent base on the moon, then real development can start. We do need to work out the basics before we go.
One very useful thing will be a means of storing He3 until someone learns how to burn it in a fusion reactor.
The Moon would be the perfect place for a beanstalk launcher, then we can go to Mars and set up a mine or two there, with a Mars base/beanstalk used as a launch point for asteroid mining. ]
With curtrent tech we could build moon mining robots that are teleoperated that could mine and refine and build dtructures out of lunar materials. Only after you build a mostly furnished lunar base using robots would you then send humans to live there.
I like the idea of building a “Van Neuman” factory on the moon building more factories which build solar panels on the moon using lunar materials to build a “Solar Belt” around the entire moon circumference. It might look ugly from earth, but it would provide enough energy to power full scale colonization of the moon and would wrap around the entire moon providing power 100% to any lunar establishment and power could even be relayed via microwave satelites back to earth.
I remember a science fiction story in which we sent up robots and teleoperated machines, and we dug deep trenches. We then took the stuff we dug up and fused it into panels, which we fused into boxes, which we put in the trenches and fused them together, then covered them up with more lunar dust and rubble.
A tunnel base underground, using the sun, a nuke reactor, and totally indigenous materials.
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