why outer space?

--- In spacesettlers@y..., phoebos@w... wrote:
> I thought Nasa had developed the nuclear power plants for the deep space
> probes to be extremely safe, even in the event of a midlaunch breakup.
> Is this an untruth on their part? The plutonium is encased in hard
> ceramic spheres, to ensure that even if it broke up, the danger of
> direct plutonium poisoning is negligible. Besides, the surface of the
> moon is a pretty radioactive place anyways. If we cannt consider the
> possibility of using one there , then what the hell are we doing
> mounting these things on gigantic shells filled with volatiles and
> igniting it?
>
> Ah well, use solar power and store it in nicad batteries, manufactured
> from lunar materials. Either way, I do not care, as long as my plants
> get some light, and some dinner in my belly..

Just had a thought. Solar collectors powering steam turbines could very easily generate as much energy as you wanted. Use an inflatable one that acts as a giant magnifying glass focused on a radiator that converts it to steam (doesn't have to be water, but the principle is the same) to powr the turbines to charge the batteries (which would have to be really, really big to supply enough energy for a two week drain) and voila! mucho power.

And as for adding organics to the soil, if I can get a couple of generations of spinach or lettuce to grow, tht would a a start on the soil buildup. No matter what, it will be incredibly hard to build up soil from scratch...regular dirt is extremely complicated, and has had billions of years to develop...the organics, the microscopic life, the nematodes, everything. I have not been taking notes, so far this has just been to see if I could do it. And if you happen to have a batch of nitrogen-fixing bacteria in your pocket, email it to me.....

Billy J.