,
4 tweets,
1 min read
Read on Twitter
Agreed. However, I'm currently on two funded projects working on tech for this, and all indications say lunar water is easily retractable. There's a concern the water ice in the cold lunar craters might be as hard as granite. However.../1
2/...rocks don't survive long on the Moon. The constant micrometeoroid bombardent chips them into regolith. That will be exactly the same when the "rocks" are made of frozen water.
3/ So the ice should already be in easily excavated form. This agrees with radar observations of the Moon that show a total absence of solid ice surfaces (lenses of ice), and yet neutron scattering and other data show the ice is there. Yes it is there, but it is pre-crushed!
4/ This is best-case for it being a useful resource. We should be able to just scoop up the crushed ice (mixed with soil grains) & haul it to a processor to melt & clean the water. Or we can heat the soil and let water vapors diffuse out. Either way, pre-crushed is accessible.
