Full G on the Moon or other small bodies?

On Jan 12, 2007, at 16:14 UTC, Jake wrote:

> regolith??? That's just junk.. Dusty stuff on the surface.. I have not
> heard of extracting oxygen from it... And I don't really understand
> how this would be possible...

Then, if you have any interest in space colonization, you need to do
some more reading. Here's an excellent place to start:

(Mind the long URL; if it breaks, just seach for "Mining the Sky".)
Also note that NASA will be organizing a challenge soon, which has to
do with extracting the oxygen at a rate that hasn't been previously
demonstrated; the basic chemistry HAS been demonstrated, decades ago:

Finally, if you really want to cut to some of the relevant details, the
old Artemis data book has a decent intro:

Lunar regolith is about half oxygen by mass. It's the closest, most
easily accessible important extraterrestrial resource in the solar
system. Rather important not to miss!

> As far as long term effects on earth born humans in 1/6g.. This seems
> pretty obvious..

This from the guy who thinks that mining the Moon could affect its
orbit, and that you can't get oxygen from regolith? It's time to admit
that what may seem pretty obvious may nevertheless be entirely wrong.

On this particular issue, I'm not claiming I know the answer -- I'm
claiming that *nobody* knows the answer. I don't trust my own
intuition of what's obvious any more than you should trust yours.

> Yes.. Most Asteroids are further away in the kuiper belt, but we find
> stray ones all the time.. Sometimes we even call them meteors..

Um, no. These words don't mean what you think they mean. Go grab a
copy of Mining the Sky; I'm very sure you'll enjoy it, and your
subsequent discussions on space colonization will be much more
productive!

Best,
- Joe

Joe Strout -- joe@...