SPS doubts

--- In ssi_list@... "Valens Agnitio"

> Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't the moon depleted of the
> heavier elements such as those necessary for fission? I have no
> idea, but it seemed that it be that way. Not that we can't ship
> that stuff there (imagine the enviro outcry on THAT).

It's there but not in great quantities. That's the KREEP that is
referred to in selenology studies. It's concentrated.

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/metsoc98/pdf/5174.pdf

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/moon2002/pdf/3039.pdf

http://lunar.arc.nasa.gov/printerready/science/geologys.html

"KREEP: More than 4.5 billion years ago, the surface of the Moon was
a liquid magma ocean. Scientists think that one component of lunar
rocks, KREEP (K-potassium, Rare Earth Elements, and P-phosphorous),
represents the last chemical remnant of that magma ocean. KREEP is
actually a composite of what scientists term "incompatible
elements": those which cannot fit into a crystal structure and thus
were left behind, floating to the surface of the magma. For
researchers, KREEP is a convenient tracer, useful for reporting the
story of the volcanic history of the lunar crust and chronicling the
frequency of impacts by comets and other celestial bodies."

TangoMan