Re: What should they do when (if) they get there?

"Joann Evans" <bondage@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:43431FFA.4D76011A@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Pete Lynn wrote:
> >
> > "Alex Terrell" <alexterrell@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> > news:1128329203.516288.300160@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > >
> > > Pete Lynn wrote:
> > >
> > > > I suspect LEO is actually a better place to go,
> > > > especially if we can develop some kind of
> > > > automated regolith to LEO delivery system.
> > > > Just because NASA is not doing anything in
> > > > LEO does not mean it is not a good place to
> > > > do development work.
> > > >
> > > An automated regolith delivery system is not
> > > easy. Digging machines need maintenance.
> >
> > Sure it is not easy, but nor is a continued manned
> > presence and the necessary infrastructure to
> > support it.
>
> Then it should not be hard to do an Earth-based
> pilot project of completely automated digging/mining,
> yes?
>
> That some mining concerns have (AFAIK) not
> already tried this to reduce labor costs, tells me
> something about the difficulty of doing these things
> without at least some human presence.

It depends on the simplicity of the specific task, but there is an
increasing degree of such automation in terrestrial mining.

The tether system which scrapes regolith from the surface while
remaining in lunar orbit is one such possibility of a system which might
be largely automated. Lunar surface systems would seem more
complicated, even so there may be simpler ways of doing this.

But this is beside the point.

A pure chemical rocket space transport with aircraft like operation
would I think quickly arise once CATS is achieved. I would expect this
to quickly bring launch costs down to well under $100/kg to LEO.

A million dollar prefab LEO house might weigh around five ton, depending
on the mass of furnishings, and have an internal volume of around
500m^3, (say foam core double wall carbon fiber shell with multi layered
external fabric tent for impact protection, say 1000-2000kg all up). A
return ticket might cost around $20,000, obviously tourism and other
such activities will take off first.

With this I expect a very large population to quickly establish in LEO -
a country worth. Note that Lunar resources are not required for this. A
countries worth of infrastructure in LEO would I expect quickly lead to
missions further a field and the development of extra terrestrial
resources. These could then be developed at an incremental and
economical pace, though I expect LEO would be boom town by then.

Cheap access to LEO is the critical step, once this happens, the rest
should follow naturally. For now, this is where our efforts are probably
best spent, the moon can actually wait.


Pete.


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