/sci/ - Science & Math

>>4017490
>WE MIGHT AS WELL TERRAFORM OUR OWN MOON!
Yes, we will.

>Lets terraform mars or venus before we refer to this technology like it has a concrete existence.
Because the technology for terraforming Mars/Venus totally exists now, doesn't it? Discussing especially alien places for terraforming brings up interesting questions and can better influence how we deal with Mars/Venus.

>>3983033
High school physics is a must.
Probably two years of uni physics too.
Must have passed 1 year pilot training for standardized spaceplanes (Skylon, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Tharsis) and powered self-propelled exoskeletons for outer hull maintenance where robots would be impractical.
Must have completed the two-year course for maintaining physical fitness in lower gravity, as well as any procedures and rules that must be observed to prevent some new asshole who smuggled a weed brownie onboard from opening an airlock before closing the other airlock door and so on.
Also, they cannot smoke outside of designated smoking rooms.

Personally I think not only with the moon have dozens of large cities, but eventually it will be terraformed. Perhaps not to the extent Mars and perhaps Venus, but enough so there's a relatively thin atmosphere that you can breathe, and some small seas.

>>3661021
And then comes the whole aspect of space-based solar power:
http://inventorspot.com/articles/spacebased_solar_cells_could_bea_7507
>"A single kilometer-wide band of geosynchronous earth orbit experiences enough solar flux in one year (approximately 212 terawatt-years) to nearly equal the amount of energy contained within all known recoverable conventional oil reserves on Earth today (approximately 250 TW-yrs)," according the report. "This far exceeds the projected 30TW of annual demand in mid-century."

A common refrain to this is 'OH INEFFICIENCY HAS TO TRAVEL THROUGH ATMOSPHERE CLOUDS YADDA YADDA'

Well, the efficiency is surprisingly low if you use certain microwave wavelengths that don't interact with oxygen/nitrogen/water vapour much.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space-based_solar_power#Microwave_power_transmission
>More recently, microwave power transmission has been demonstrated, in conjunction with solar energy capture, between a mountain top in Maui and the main island of Hawaii (92 miles away), by a team under John C. Mankins.[38][39]

Keep in mind this is through 400+ millibar atmosphere if not substantially more, which means it would have to go through more than if it was beamed from directly overhead (as ~350 millibar and thicker is below 9 km, if I remember the air pressure at the summit of Mt. Everest correctly)

>>3630001
None of us have left yet.

>1969 Land on the Moon
>Fuck yeah science!
>1972 Land on the Moon final time
>never do it again

If we could put people on the fucking Moon in 1969, why the shit have we basically ignored it since? Where's ma fuckin moon colony bitches?

pick related. It's the the continent of Africa s seen from New Toronto on the terraformed moon