/sci/ - Science & Math

>>16167634

>>15772620
shh no tears, only dreams now

>>15063672

>>12457993
>>12458011

>>11971895
>canadarm
>>11971886
because Tsiolkovsky
>>11972076
>moon is really just a toll booth
But that's true, because it's a dV-sucking gravity well that doesn't even offer you an aero-braking reach-around. Even going into orbit around it is still a waste of dV.
The other reason that the moon isn't very useful as a "stepping stone to Mars" is that the environment is completely different, especially the horrible shit that is lunar dust, but also in the chemistry that is available.
The one thing that the moon would be good for is manufacturing parts for orbital stations from in-situ materials, as it has a much lower dV cost for getting shit out of its gravity well. But that's for stuff FROM the moon, you would need to find a good source of carbon for ISRU. Lunar H2O ice would be the source of hydrogen and oxygen, but it's not a renewable resource, so it matters how much there is up there.
And depots are partly a meme. It's not like sticking a pile of gasoline cans in the desert, you have to match orbits with them first. You also have to be using the same fuel, but hydrogen is such a bitch to contain and maintain that a depot might as well be methane anyhow. You can standardize on a fuel and a convenient orbit, but then will it be any better than simply launching fuel tankers when and where you need them?

>>11856762
sorry aboot that, eh

>>11050015

>>10424819
>canadarm 3
https://ironsky.fandom.com/wiki/Canadarm