With all the bigger new rockets on the drawing boards, it seems likely that humanity may make a significant return to the Moon before 2030, hopefully as part of a sustainable presence. This then brings forth the issue of water resources on the Moon and their utilization/exploitation.Beyond the obvious use for rocket fuel and drinking water, will we see water used for large-scale agriculture on the Moon? Could the Moon with its abundant real estate and solar energy become a breadbasket for the teeming masses of Earth? (Then we can stop clear-cutting on Earth, and save our own homeworld)
If various entities are operating side-by-side on the Moon -- private US operators, China, Russia, ESA -- then how will water resources be allocated and managed? Will it be first-come-first-serve? Is there enough for everyone? I'm assuming there'll be no need to resort to force to prevent someone from seizing something you've claimed. The Moon Treaty seems to be vaguely similar to the Antarctic treaty, although nobody seems to have really ratified it to give it teeth.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_Treaty
By what date can we expect a thorough and comprehensive mapping of ice deposits on the Moon?
How exactly will lunar ice be gathered up from where it exists, and brought to human habitations for use? Will there be pipelines stretching to craters within whose shadow ice may exist? Or will there be robot tanker trucks transporting the water back to base?Would habitations be set up purely on the basis of close proximity to lunar ice deposits?
Are there any other sources of lunar water that may be exploitable, like underground water?http://www.space.com/22553-moon-water-mystery-source.html
As lunar water exploitation increases in capacity, what are the progression of further uses for the water?I'm imagining that if I were a lunar space tourist on a 2-week stay, I'd love for there to be a large artificial wave pool on the Moon, because outdoor excursions into the barren gravelly landscape are going to get old really quick.(Now that I think about it, would the Earth's pull on the Moon result in much higher tides for a sufficiently large body of lunar water? I wonder how big such a body of water would have to be to give some good surfing in the lower lunar gravity? Can anyone calculate this?)
EDIT: Actually, wait, if the Moon is tidally locked to the Earth, and the same side of the Moon always faces the Earth, then I guess the Moon can't really have any tides, can it? But that might also be a reason for any underground lunar water to be more likely to be found on the nearer side of the Moon, wouldn't it?
When comes to propellant production energy is biggest component which make sense as fuel stores potential energy and engines convert it to kinetic energy or thrust. A rough rule of thumb for water to LOX/LH production is 6.7kW/hr per kg of fuel. This covers electrolysis (biggest energy consumer) and refrigeration. For lunar polar facility with 80% sunlight a sun track 1kw solar panel would produce 7MW/hr, enough to produce 1t of LOX/LH. Don't know how much energy is required to extract water from craters, so going to assume 300kw/hr is enough combined with surplus heat from LOX/LH production.
Quote from: TrevorMonty on 03/22/2017 06:09 amWhen comes to propellant production energy is biggest component which make sense as fuel stores potential energy and engines convert it to kinetic energy or thrust. A rough rule of thumb for water to LOX/LH production is 6.7kW/hr per kg of fuel. This covers electrolysis (biggest energy consumer) and refrigeration. For lunar polar facility with 80% sunlight a sun track 1kw solar panel would produce 7MW/hr, enough to produce 1t of LOX/LH. Don't know how much energy is required to extract water from craters, so going to assume 300kw/hr is enough combined with surplus heat from LOX/LH production.A kW/hr is Joules per second per second. That is not the same as energy which is kWh (Joules per second times second = Joules). So if water requires 6.7 kWh/kg (ideal is 3.73 kWh/kg) then for 1000 kg, that is 6700 kWh. At 80% sun that is equivalent to 6700/0.8 = 8375 kWh. That means a 1 kW panel would need 8375 hours or 349 days to make to required amount of energy! You're going to need a much bigger solar array.
Quote from: Steven Pietrobon on 03/22/2017 06:25 amQuote from: TrevorMonty on 03/22/2017 06:09 amWhen comes to propellant production energy is biggest component which make sense as fuel stores potential energy and engines convert it to kinetic energy or thrust. A rough rule of thumb for water to LOX/LH production is 6.7kW/hr per kg of fuel. This covers electrolysis (biggest energy consumer) and refrigeration. For lunar polar facility with 80% sunlight a sun track 1kw solar panel would produce 7MW/hr, enough to produce 1t of LOX/LH. Don't know how much energy is required to extract water from craters, so going to assume 300kw/hr is enough combined with surplus heat from LOX/LH production.A kW/hr is Joules per second per second. That is not the same as energy which is kWh (Joules per second times second = Joules). So if water requires 6.7 kWh/kg (ideal is 3.73 kWh/kg) then for 1000 kg, that is 6700 kWh. At 80% sun that is equivalent to 6700/0.8 = 8375 kWh. That means a 1 kW panel would need 8375 hours or 349 days to make to required amount of energy! You're going to need a much bigger solar array.You just proved what I said was correct that 1kw panel can produce enough energy over a year for 1ton.Not sure where you think my calculations are wrong.Thanks for correction on kW hour.
You did not show "per year" anywhere in your first post, just "per hour" - slight difference in time scales
Renaming of this Workshop should be on list based on finding 1.George Sowers (@george_sowers) tweeted at 0:44 AM on Thu, Aug 09, 2018:The report for our Lunar Polar Prospecting Workshop is now posted:https://t.co/tu30COYkE7The workshop resulted in six findings and six recommendations. The findings are:1. Use of the term prospecting should be avoided. The process to definitively characterize a space resource such that it becomes a proven reserve should be referred to as space resource exploration.
The recommendations are:1. The first priority for the lunar ice exploration campaign is to obtain ground truth in one ortwo key locations. This can be obtained by a lander equipped with a drill and otherinstruments to detect volatile species. Data from this mission will be used to anchorgeologic models of the nature and formation of the lunar poles and their ice deposits. Thedata will also be used to calibrate existing remote sensing data for use in site selection forfollow-on missions.2. Geologic models and resource maps should be developed, then refined throughout theexploration campaign.3. In parallel with the ground truth landers, a cubesat swarm should be employed to gatherhigh resolution remote sensing data at the lunar poles relevant to the existence andcharacterization of water. The cubesats should fly as low as possible (10-20 km above thesurface). The same mission should also deploy a swarm of hundreds of low cost impactorsinstrumented for volatile detection and quantification.
4. Based on the previous results, a small number of the most promising locations should beselected. For each location, a small lander will be deployed. Each lander is equipped witha number of deployable, tethered sensor packages.
5. Based on the previous results, and if a sufficiently high probability location(s) has beenfound, a rover/sampler mission should be sent to that location for detailed resourcemapping and verification of economic viability. This mission should include an iceextraction technology demonstration. Power options for this mission, which will requirelong duration operations within the PSR, include an RTG and a separate power beaminglander in an adjacent sunlit region with view into the PSR.
6. NASA should direct the LEAG to convene a Specific Action Team (SAT) to develop thedetails of the lunar polar ice exploration roadmap sufficient to begin mission planning.