[ExI] Moooon

[spike]

-----Original Message-----
From: extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org
[mailto:extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org] On Behalf Of Kelly Anderson

>...I would bet that many nanotechnologies would work better in microgravity
than here on the ground (though I don't know that for sure, and someone here
probably knows a LOT more about it than I)...

Hmmm, not really.  Remember the square/cube law of scaling.  As you go
downscale, the effects of gravity decrease as the cube of the linear
dimension, whereas surface area related effects such as electromagnetic
adhesion or VanderWaal's for instance, scale as the square.  So ants can
walk on walls and ceilings (wish I could do that.)  If we continue on down
to nanoscale, gravity becomes negligible.

>...Yes. I think Bill is doing more than talking about this... I really do.
His concept of going to the moon with no way back (at least
initially) is really quite intriguing. I'd bet you could save a lot of money
by not planning a return trip...-Kelly

Once you do the weight models, that conclusion is inescapable.  I (and
others) realized over twenty years ago that any meaningful mission to the
moon involving apes would need to be a one-way trip.  Otherwise your mission
is short, desperate and scary, and you use up far too much of your payload
in fuel to get back.  That being said, there is a lot of infrastructure that
must be built before the first ape arrives, to make that even distantly
possible.

spike