telendria t1_j9vmh7j wrote on February 24, 2023 at 9:48 PM

Reply to comment by cronedog in Blue Origin makes solar cells out of simulated moon dirt with 'alchemist' project by spacedotc0m

just send two nuclear batteries then...

until we hear more about efficiency of such a setup, it's just a bunch of PR.

I have no doubt such infrastructure is going to be needed in the future for the lunar base expansion and self-sufficiency for stuff like this in a couple of decades, but I seriously doubt it is going to be any efficient when setting up the base when this sounds like something that is going to take years/decades to pay off energy-wise.

And if this was any efficient, we would have similar, but far more robust setups on Earth already, with solar panel farms dedicated to only create more solar panels basically out of thin air for zero cost outside of the initial setup, no?

cronedog t1_j9vnj4a wrote on February 24, 2023 at 9:55 PM

I not saying it's a good idea, just that framing it as a contradiction because "you need solar panels for energy and you need energy for solar panels" isn't a true statement.

I think nuclear powered bases will be the way to go...maybe forever.

Niftysnail t1_j9wa2wq wrote on February 25, 2023 at 12:35 AM

I'm not certain, but Don't nuclear reactors still reqire water to produce power. Water is very heavy and enough to power you start up solar plant would be alot.

JimJimmyJamesJimbo t1_j9z9bbd wrote on February 25, 2023 at 5:40 PM

This logic doesn't apply to earth because escaping the atmosphere is slightly more expensive than shipping stuff from china. They're trying to avoid spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in rocket fuel to get solar panel materials up there every single time they need a new panel