Comments on: Moon: Oxygen, Oxygen Everywhere, But We’ll Need Hydrogen To Drink

By: Darnell

Darnell — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 02:43:51 +0000

SpaceX is in no position to launch anything to the Moon–yet.

I think after dozens of successful LEO launches (and many successful GEO launches) they’ll be in position to send gear and equipment to the Moon.

By: JohnHunt

JohnHunt — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 04:34:51 +0000

The advantage of writing late is that I know that water has been confirmed at the poles. That’s the positive side. But the negative side is that I also know that the Constellation program has likely been cancelled so we’re not going to go to the lunar poles after all.

So…if NASA doesn’t take us to the lunar poles could somebody like SpaceX do so? Hmmm…their F9H gets only 13% of the mass to LEO than would the Ares V. It may be challenging but perhaps a couple of small craft (earth departure & lunar lander stages) launched by F9Hs could place teleoperated robonauts on the lunar poles to prepare fuel, O2, water, and a habitat. Then individual astronauts might be able to be launched to the Moon.

But, if an astronaut is too massive to make it to the poles, then maybe we will need to deliver hydrogen to the lunar equator.

Thoughts?

By: Darnell

Darnell — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:11:21 +0000

You’re right about that Jim, but for now we do not know if it does exist there–yet.

If it does, then there will be no need to ship hydrogen tanks lunar side (depending on how much frost they find of course), although it may be better to err on the side of caution than to presume an abundance only to be greeted by dry, white moon dirt.

By: Jim Gagnon

Jim Gagnon — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:22:22 +0000

You’re ignoring two things: if permafrost exists at the lunar poles, that water and other hydrates will be much easier to obtain, and the same process that causes the lunar regolith to capture protons from the solar wind and turn them into hydrogen can probably be made more efficient; one could envision positioning a device with a negatively charged stream of oxygen which is then captured and condensed. You might not have to mine a single ounce of regolith in order to get water.