Hydrogen on the Moon

[Mithras]

No, I don't know ... could a colony on the Moon get access to hydrogen in the crust? Is there any on the Moon at all? If we are looking at nerva type rockets in the mid-range future, could a colony on the Moon have access to an fuel to power them???

[Ara Pacis]

NERVA rockets used heavy fissionables. H3 is more suited to fusion, if and when it becomes possible. Using H3 for reaction mass might be squandering it.

[Van Rijn]

There might be some ice, or a bit of water in the rock, in some shaded polar craters. If so, there would be significant hydrogen there.

[ravens_cry]

I think using the hydrogen in any kind of rocket would be squandering it. (yes, I know Helium 3 is not Hydrogen) I think it would be better used in a base/colony/city for drinking and other life support systems where it could be recycled and used many times. Though not the best rocket possible, a aluminum/oxygen rocket could be very useful, as both elements are extremely abundant in the moons crust.

[Ara Pacis]

Doh! My bad. Confused H and He.

[JustAFriend]

Of course if we would drop a few dozen cometary or asteroid ice balls on the moon's polar regions NOW before we colonize it, we'd have some resources to work with.

.....but silly me, that would be thinking ahead, wouldn't it???

[antoniseb]

Of course if we would drop a few dozen cometary or asteroid ice balls on the moon's polar regions NOW before we colonize it, we'd have some resources to work with.

.....but silly me, that would be thinking ahead, wouldn't it???

OK, let's say we're thinking ahead. Can you design a mission to drop even one icy comet on the Moon's polar region before we get there? Let's assume it's a small comet, and is only a few miles in diameter.

[Mithras]

Interesting, aluminium/oxygen rocket.... :surprised

I ask mainly because I'm preparing for a novel with Earth and the mature Moon colony at odds, a sort of Cold War. He3 powered plasma or fusion rockets are new and expensive, most insystem travel is conducted with nuclear-thermal rockets (which I thought were fuelled by hydrogen).

Earth is abundant in hydrogen, but struggles to find He3; the Moon can get its hands on the He3 it needs, but is desperate for hydrogen. Bringing in a comet or two sounds like a very good idea, and something well in line with the technological base of the novel.

I think using the hydrogen in any kind of rocket would be squandering it. (yes, I know Helium 3 is not Hydrogen) I think it would be better used in a base/colony/city for drinking and other life support systems where it could be recycled and used many times. Though not the best rocket possible, a aluminum/oxygen rocket could be very useful, as both elements are extremely abundant in the moons crust.

[Warren Platts]

Interesting, aluminium/oxygen rocket.... :surprised

You might like this article.

[ravens_cry]

Fascinating article Warren Platts, thank you.

[Noclevername]

Of course if we would drop a few dozen cometary or asteroid ice balls on the moon's polar regions NOW before we colonize it, we'd have some resources to work with.

.....but silly me, that would be thinking ahead, wouldn't it???

If we could do that, we wouldn't need the Moon. We'd already have all the resources avalable needed for a space colony. Dropping it from orbit would waste most of it.

[Ronald Brak]

The moon has been smacked by plenty of carbonous chondrite asteroids and chunks of ice. It doesn't seem unreasonable to me that there would be places where volitiles are trapped in the lunar crust. Does anyone know about how far you'd have to dig on the moon to reach a depth where the temperature is always below freezing in an equatorial region?

[Ara Pacis]

Don't volatiles become volatile when heated up by an impact?

[ravens_cry]

Yes, but any that did not achieve lunar escape velocity and landed in areas of permanent shadow would presumably still be there. The science fiction novella 'Saddlepoint Roughneck' by Stephen Baxter had some interesting ideas on mining lunar volatiles. How accurate it was will be something that I hope the next batch of lunar explorers find out.

[Ronald Brak]

I'm also wondering if impacts could result in volitiles being trapped in the lunar crust in areas where the rock temperature always remains below freezing. No doubt such deposits would be rare if they exist, but they could be a valuable resource.

[ravens_cry]

I'm also wondering if impacts could result in volitiles being trapped in the lunar crust in areas where the rock temperature always remains below freezing. No doubt such deposits would be rare if they exist, but they could be a valuable resource.

Could be. Is there any info on the temperature gradient of the Moons crust?

[Ara Pacis]

I'm also wondering if impacts could result in volitiles being trapped in the lunar crust in areas where the rock temperature always remains below freezing. No doubt such deposits would be rare if they exist, but they could be a valuable resource.

I'm not aware of many rocks that remain below freezing in an impact zone during an impact on something as large as and in such as position as the moon.

[Ronald Brak]

Obviously an impact site will be surrounded by rock that isn't significantly heated and I am wondering if it would be possible for some tiny portion of water vapour from an ice impact to reach it and freeze. I don't know if this is possible or not, but it may be a rare occurance.