Space

8876 readers

49 users here now

Share & discuss informative content on: Astrophysics, Cosmology, Space Exploration, Planetary Science and Astrobiology.

Rules

Be respectful and inclusive.
No harassment, hate speech, or trolling.
Engage in constructive discussions.
Share relevant content.
Follow guidelines and moderators' instructions.
Use appropriate language and tone.
Report violations.
Foster a continuous learning environment.

Picture of the Day

The Busy Center of the Lagoon Nebula

Related Communities

🔭 Science

🚀 Engineering

🌌 Art and Photography

Other Cool Links

founded 2 years ago

MODERATORS

144

Japan's moon probe landed upside-down but somehow it still works (www.businessinsider.com)

submitted 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) by ooli to c/space

31 comments fedilink hide all child comments

nations flock to the cratered south pole and far side of the moon, where critical resources such as water could be mined.

Is capitalism so prevalent, we're running out of ocean already?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 27 points 11 months ago (2 children)

It's not to bring back to earth, it's to use in space, water is heavy and it's crazy expensive to put water into space.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 months ago

Water is:

a source of oxygen for breathing
a source of hydrogen for rocket fuel
a source of hydrogen for fuel cells for power generation
for drinking (obviously)
for sanitation
for growing food
fantastic radiation shielding (important when you don't have an atmosphere to absorb solar radiation) - embed water tanks in your habitat walls or just mount them on the outside - nice layer of cancer prevention

So yeah, there's too many uses for water in space and it's really difficult to lift into orbit from Earth. Even if some future moon base starts producing an excess of water, it'll be used to resupply other space habitats or vehicles.

[–] ooli 3 points 11 months ago (1 children)

thanks for the clarification

[–] elbarto777 2 points 10 months ago

More like, teaching moment. Keep on learning!