(1) A NASA funded study of lunar regolith that introduces some related terminology that will be common in future discussions.
(2) Termed PAYDIRT, this is a presentation that shows a breakdown of the components of lunar regolith and how it would be used to support a Moon Base. Please notice the amount of regolith that needs to be mined to support the extraction of some elements. When you do this also reflect on the comments included in the preceding blog article MOON AESTHETICS.
The term "strip mining" is used in discussions involving the use of regolith to support lunar operations. The challenge is to facilitate these mining operations without totally destroying the geological and geographical profile of our Moon. Can we do this? Will we do this? Considering our present oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, it is understandable if we do not have complete trust in the safety and care by mining/drilling operations here or on the Moon.
Can any government entity successfully monitor and control the extraction of minerals from any planetary body or asteroid in such a way that the overall geobiological profile of that body is not compromised? Should this control be a fully enforced dictum of our proposed global space exploration organization? Please consider these questions and add you comments. Remember, by converting extensive comments into pdf file format and linking to it allows you to offer full explanations or opinions.
CREDITS: The image displayed above is a segment of a photograph taken by Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin while on the Moon. The photo is courtesy of NASA.
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