Reason to go back to the moon?

[R1Geezer]

OK since the Apollo missions we have often asked why we stopped going, various reasons are propounded, usually cost, etc and we've done it to death, nowt more to be done etc. Anyway just been watching "do we really need the moon" with Maggie Aderin on BBC2. Towards the end there's a guy who reckons of we cover the moon's equatorial region with solar panels, and transmit the power to Earth with microwaves, we'd go some way to producing most of our power needs, all cleanly. He claims most of the materials needed are already up there. So what do you reckon? Could the moon be used like this? There's a platinum BGB for the first predictable plonkerism!

[naomi24]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, Geezer, but I don't think your BGBs are taken terribly seriously really. Who knows what will happen in the future. What an interesting programme that was - and what an excellent presenter.

[dotty.]

Well, we can't don without the moon, and after all the effort they've put in to the ISS research i reckon the best is yet to be.

[NazNomad]

"There's a platinum BGB for the first predictable plonkerism!"

Can I claim it if I ask ..."what's a BGB?"

[joggerjayne]

"back" ?

[JonnyBoy12]

Did you know that the Earth is 0.02 degrees warmer during a full moon?

No, I do not think that the materials needed are there on the Moon; why would they be?

[starone]

I have always hoped I would still be alive to see science fiction come true (well some of it) and man as a species going to the planets or even out of the solar system, if we have to look for habitable ones but I am getting older and older and nothing is happening. If they don't hurry up it will be too late for me, so I am all for someone going to the moon as quickly as possible.

[R1Geezer]

I didn't ask if you think the materials are there jonnyboy, they almost certainly are and thanks for the temperature check!

[R1Geezer]

ahh JJ, the BGB is yours, bless.

[dundurn]

Blue Geezer badges are rumoured to be abbreviated to BGB, but cognoscienti speak very highly of broken Garibaldi biscuits

[dundurn]

Ooops - cognoscenti

[jake-the-peg]

Did this person explain how such a system would cope with half the month in darkness?

I mean if you're willing to go a quarter of a million miles back and forth and able to keep this microwave beem tight over that distance you might as well orbit the Lagrange point L1 which is always in sunlight!

The fact that most ofthe materials are up there doesn't mean squat

Most of the materials are in the Kalihari dessert and it's a damn sight more survivable than the moon - far better to build on Earth and ship it up there.

Also the cost of photelectric cells is very high - true that looks like falling soon but that just makes Earth based systems more attractive.

Fund a station on the moon or in Mali and Chad - I know which sounds the safer bet to me

[lumination]

but when we look up to the moon at night what are we gonna see? a giant mirror or a load of solar panels? i think people wouldnt like it cause the moon wouldnt be...well wouldnt look like the moon.
we should live on it! that would be fun!

[R1Geezer]

sorry jake when is the moon in darkness? brief periods of lunar eclipse is all I can think of. Take your point about the other things, just thought it was a good discussion point.

[jomifl]

The drawback with transmitting that much energy to the earth by microwaves is that if the beam misses the receiving antennae there will be some rather large burnt patches and a lot of dead things.

[jake-the-peg]

Geezer - when you look at the moon it's only full for a day or so

When it's half - only half of it is illuminated by the sun the other half is in darkness

http://thundafunda.co...s/HLIC/MoonPhases.gif

As the moon orbits the earth over the 28 day period different parts of it are in sun and different parts in shade

[jake-the-peg]

True jomifl

Not to mention the problem of how you are going to store the generated energy between transmissions.

I don't think I'm going to be backing this scheme

[R1Geezer]

the guy is talking about a belt of solar panels around the middle, aside from eclipses some part of the moon is always in sunlight, the transmission system does not need to be in sunlight, it's not a reflection system that is being proposed. That's how I understood it jake anyway.

[jake-the-peg]

Right so half of them will always be in shadow.

at L1 they would all always be in full sun - that's why the Helios solar observatory is there

[chakka35]

Was it explained how you go about transmitting such vast amounts of power by microwave and why that technique is not used to transmit power around our own planet or even country?

[ludwig]

I can't believe no-ones spotted the obvious drawback - the moon only comes out at night - what's the point of putting solar panels on it? Hellooo - you're not thinking it through people.