The gravity well and Lunar dust probably makes the Moon a poor site. L-2 is probably the best place for space telescopes.
Quote from: Steven Pietrobon on 09/15/2016 06:23 amThe gravity well and Lunar dust probably makes the Moon a poor site. L-2 is probably the best place for space telescopes.True, but the Moon is a great place for radio telescopes. Placed on the far side, the Moon will block radio signals form Earth. Early systems can be cables rolled out on the lunar surface. Steerable antenna can be very large with the Moon's low gravity.Once metal needed for construction is manufactured on the Moon building large radio telescopes will be far cheaper.
Quote from: RonM on 09/15/2016 01:38 pmQuote from: Steven Pietrobon on 09/15/2016 06:23 amThe gravity well and Lunar dust probably makes the Moon a poor site. L-2 is probably the best place for space telescopes.True, but the Moon is a great place for radio telescopes. Placed on the far side, the Moon will block radio signals form Earth. Early systems can be cables rolled out on the lunar surface. Steerable antenna can be very large with the Moon's low gravity.Once metal needed for construction is manufactured on the Moon building large radio telescopes will be far cheaper.That's probably true if metal production is established for other reasons. I doubt that establishing it for just a radio telescope is cost efficient. A radio telescope can be shielded from earth in L2 and as it is in space it needs a lot less structural mass than even in low moon gravity. It can also be directed easier and in a wider range without concern for bending forces.
Quote from: RonM on 09/15/2016 01:38 pmQuote from: Steven Pietrobon on 09/15/2016 06:23 amThe gravity well and Lunar dust probably makes the Moon a poor site. L-2 is probably the best place for space telescopes.True, but the Moon is a great place for radio telescopes. Placed on the far side, the Moon will block radio signals form Earth. Early systems can be cables rolled out on the lunar surface. Steerable antenna can be very large with the Moon's low gravity.Once metal needed for construction is manufactured on the Moon building large radio telescopes will be far cheaper.The same argument could be done for Phobos or Deimos, with the difference that the delta-v requirements would be less and that telescope structure could be far lighter due to lower gravity.
I'd say the best use for the Moon is as a tourism/entertainment center.I'm thinking about lunar sports, like swimming, where with fins a good swimmer could leap 5 meters out of the water.Similarly, gymnasts could launch themselves high into the air, and do amazing spins and whatnot on the way down. Diving. Ballet. Maybe even strapping on wings and flying (though I haven't had much look finding detailed calculations about that).All of that with good video production should generate some substantial revenue. And then, of course, you have (initially) billionaires and (later) millionaires who want to go just to go.Yes, these activities require a fairly big pressurized space. Perhaps you could start smaller and work your way up to the larger venues, bootstrap-style. Initially just do a reality TV show about half a dozen people living and working on the Moon, in a rough first-generation habitat. I would certainly watch that. I'd clear my schedule for it weekly (or daily if available), and go buy the products advertised in the commercials, too.
A research park to test out various propellantless propulsion techniques like mass drivers, sky hooks, space elevators and laser-pushed light sails. The lower gravity and lack of an atmosphere is some advantage for these schemes.
High energy physics. Earth is getting too crowded for these toys, and open space has its own issues, like micrometeorites, thermal environment, lack of support structure, etc.
"Moonlight"...that's all I got... Coming up on 50 years since we first landed no one has made an economic/scientific case worth the expenditure so far...
It's always harder to make the economic case in the beginning, which is the bootstrapping phase. But once more activities are underway and in place on the Moon, the economic case will gradually open up, particularly as costs drop.
Robotic equipment for ISRU and construction activities will get cheaper and more capable, to bring the overall costs down.
trying to find economic reasons to go to space will just make you frustrated. It is not like hopping a ship and heading to the new world to scratch out a living.
Quote from: Rhyshaelkan on 09/26/2016 11:41 pmtrying to find economic reasons to go to space will just make you frustrated. It is not like hopping a ship and heading to the new world to scratch out a living.Wrong comparison. The very first settlements were erected as a support base to explorers (think ISRU of fuel and supplies for the return trip). It took several attempts before the first colony broke even, and some of the more famous succesful settlements were started up to get away from unpleasant people in the old continent, not primarily to make money. Others ended up making money in unforeseen ways. And interestingly, some tried to recuperate some of the money by making products that could be made in Europe as well, because otherwise the ships would 'return empty'. There's a familiar ring to those words. Scratching out a living an ocean away was quite hard back then too. Incredibly high mortality rate and starvation even for those times, and they didn't even go off the planet.Having locals with knowledge how to get food and having concentrated wealth for thousands of years helped a lot in both surviving and early profits to show people that it could be done.
Science (geology). Given that the moon lacks weather and volcanic activity, it preserves deposits just below the surface that have remained unchanged for millions of years. Probably not enough justification to start a full size colony, but enough resin to seriously consider a small outpost.
A "practical" case, without assuming any customers that don't(haven't) already exist(ed)? That would definitely be a cold-war era missile base, the original case for the (1960s) Orion spacecraft. Camouflaged lunar bases can be very difficult to locate and attack, especially if they are on the far side. But that isn't how you should look at space exploration, otherwise you'll come to the conclusion that geostationary earth orbit is the only place worth going to.
Mining platinum group metals and rare earth elements could eventually become profitable.They're difficult to get on Earth but on the moon ore is just sitting on the surface in the form of meteorites.It may even become a necessity in the near future as terrestrial sources are running out.
Quote from: Patchouli on 09/29/2016 06:05 pmMining platinum group metals and rare earth elements could eventually become profitable.They're difficult to get on Earth but on the moon ore is just sitting on the surface in the form of meteorites.It may even become a necessity in the near future as terrestrial sources are running out.It seems if there is lunar water to mine, then the PMG could be mined.If there is rocket fuel at lunar surface, this could allow PMG to be mined on Moon without dramatic lowering of earth launch costs. But were earth launch cost to lower- Musk idea of very low launch cost in order have mars settlements- then such lowering of costs could allow mining of Moon of PMG. One would need to develop transportation from the Moon which used less rocket fuel or no rocket fuel- quite risky and expensive in terms infrastructure costs, but if it worked, it could have low cost per lb/ton and if shipped enough thousands of tons per year, it could pay for the high up front costs.
The Moons economic value is that it is a handy close gravity well and has plenty of resource to support humanity as we move from a teck 1 civilisation to a teck 2 .
Am I too far OT when I say the best moon is a full moon on a warm summer night with your girlfriend outside?And then get her to sign up for a stay at the lunar station with you.
The question of "The Best Use for the Moon?" is not entirely apt, being comparable to asking what's the best use for a computer?The reasons to pursue human activity on the Moon are manifold, ranging from scientific and engineering to commerce and trade, even cultural advancements.