I LOVE the Discovery channel...

[Isleh]

or how about the part about the first moon dwellings...that since it's too expensive to bring the materials up to the moon, that they would have to make their own adobe style huts to live in!

I saw on FARK that NASA has a $250000 reward for anyone who can generate oxygen from moon dirt.

http://www.space.com/news/050519_moonrox_challenge.html

[Keer]

Sometimes the mods forget how good we have it here.

Part of it is because the Mods are doing a great job so that "here" doesn't become like "over there".

:runs away from potentially sweet & sappy moment

But back on the topic, I know NASA isn't exactly flush with budgets like they were back in "the good old days" but if I find out how to get oxygen out of moondirt they better come up with more than $250k.

[Skorixor]

it's all based on finding water/ice on the moon...if you have that, then you have water and oxygen

[X'an Shin]

or how about the part about the first moon dwellings...that since it's too expensive to bring the materials up to the moon, that they would have to make their own adobe style huts to live in!

I saw on FARK that NASA has a $250000 reward for anyone who can generate oxygen from moon dirt.

http://www.space.com/news/050519_moonrox_challenge.html

Wait, only $250k??? It would cost more than that just to go get some to research on...oh wait, they're using volcanic ash.

I know I know diddly compared to NASA about space, but I'd hate to see a technology based on volcanic ash fail when employed on the moon, because, y'know, not volcanic ash... ;)

[X'an Shin]

But back on the topic, I know NASA isn't exactly flush with budgets like they were back in "the good old days" but if I find out how to get oxygen out of moondirt they better come up with more than $250k.

No kidding. Especially since they want like 8 lbs of it or something. And it has to be done in less than 8 hours, I think.

If I had that kind of technology, I'd be SELLING it back to them. For a hella lot more than $250k.

Anybody got some volcanic rock and some theories? Anyone?

[Lok'i Vidaar]

Here's a theory, which would apply to creating anything from anything.

Reaaranging protons neutrons and electrons to create different elements.
Y'know like a replicator from ST... :P

[Novall]

If you get something hot enough, it turns to gas. My suggestion is heating the ash then seperating it at a molecular level by applying a charge to the H2O molecules to attract them away from everything else. Once you seperate the water, then you can seperate the hydrogen in some sort of ionic scrubber then send the leftover hydrogen somewhere else. Maybe to the plant that creates heat

The hardest part of the process would be finding the water in the ash.

[X'an Shin]

Here's a theory, which would apply to creating anything from anything.

Reaaranging protons neutrons and electrons to create different elements.
Y'know like a replicator from ST... :P

The irony here is you think you're being clever and funny, but this is no doubt how it will be done, only through a chemical/bombardment process rather than the elegant "re-arranging electrons" route ;P

So, we have a theory, who's got some volcanic rock/ash?

[X'an Shin]

If you get something hot enough, it turns to gas. My suggestion is heating the ash then seperating it at a molecular level by applying a charge to the H2O molecules to attract them away from everything else. Once you seperate the water, then you can seperate the hydrogen in some sort of ionic scrubber then send the leftover hydrogen somewhere else. Maybe to the plant that creates heat

The hardest part of the process would be finding the water in the ash.

I'd be interested if this was even a feasible process to obtain 8 lbs of 0^2 in 8 hours. I mean, water in ash is worse than a needle in a haystack. You'd have to go through tons of it just to get pounds of air, I'd imagine.

Here's MY winning entry:

Plant about 40 large mature trees in the volcanic ash. Add water. Install a couple of large "pollution" machines which just cough out CO^2. I'm pretty sure that in 8 hours you'd have 8lbs of O^2.

;) ;) ;)

[Keer]

Here's MY winning entry:

Plant about 40 large mature trees in the volcanic ash. Add water. Install a couple of large "pollution" machines which just cough out CO^2. I'm pretty sure that in 8 hours you'd have 8lbs of O^2.

;) ;) ;)

Heheh, now we'd just have to miniaturize that system to be transportable to the moon, if I'm understanding this. And keep trucking water up there to them. That is if the water couldn't be used for it's oxygen already.

[Skorixor]

So, we have a theory, who's got some volcanic ash?

/points to Mess'tar Dooo

oh wait, nm, you said volcanic ASH...