Blogcritics Comments on Lunar Junk: Who's in Charge of Cleaning Up the Moon?

Comment by brian on Lunar Junk: Who's in Charge of Cleaning Up the Moon?

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 01:25:12 EST

The moon, a big place, no regulation...the american dream.

Comment by brian on Lunar Junk: Who's in Charge of Cleaning Up the Moon?

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 01:09:34 EST

Yes, Men are not content with littering the earth with their junk and foulikng itb with toxic wastes, or raping it of its last minerals and trees...now they have to take the whole circus into space! It looks as if the grand plan is to go from world to world like a plague of locusts, raping, pilaging and littering... Theyve done it to Mt Everest (Qomolungma)....

Comment by Dirk Hanson on Lunar Junk: Who's in Charge of Cleaning Up the Moon?

Thu, 25 Oct 2007 00:04:23 EDT

"i'm talking about useful and cost effective recycling of materials to further the cause of exploration and scientific advancement" ----- So am I. Effective recycling would certainly spare ALL of us the polluting bits, whether orbital or lunar. The Chinese aren't just dropping a Christmas ornament and heading home, mind you. They're bringing tons of stuff and planning to stay for awhile....

Comment by gonzo marx on Lunar Junk: Who's in Charge of Cleaning Up the Moon?

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 23:51:34 EDT

duane got it... Dirk, read the entire comment, you will note i clearly delineate between Lunar based junk, and the orbiting variety i agree with duane that the orbiting Stuff is a MUCH higher priority...hence me pitching a very real and viable solution which is MUCH more cost effective than the current Shuttle program, which has not even begun to meet the need of cleaning up the orbital debris EVERY single bit that falls out of the sky due to spendthrift launch ballistics is that much payload that isn't available to future endeavors so spare me the bits about polluting, i'm talking about useful and cost effective recycling of materials to further the cause of exploration and scientific advancement Excelsior?

Comment by Dirk Hanson on Lunar Junk: Who's in Charge of Cleaning Up the Moon?

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 21:19:29 EDT

"the surface area of the moon is 14658000 square miles or 9.4 billion acres." ------- Or roughly the size of N. and S. America combined. It's so big, we don't have to worry about it! No regulations, no sweat. Who could ever pollute a place that big?

Comment by duane on Lunar Junk: Who's in Charge of Cleaning Up the Moon?

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 12:55:14 EDT

Gonzo points out the hyperbole in some of the pronouncements from the space science community. Can you imagine that the 16th century Europeans were concerned about trashing up the Atlantic every time a galleon or a frigate sunk? Nope. The lunar problem pales by comparison. Nevertheless, I estimate that within 18 months there will be a new pot of NASA money available to study the lunar junk "problem." And there will be a lot more about this behind the scenes. Concerning junk in orbit, that's another matter entirely, and deserves some serious head-scratching. Not so much because it's getting crowded up there, but because the space trash is moving. Crossing orbits of junk and satellites can result in vehicle malfunction, even total destruction. Then there's the cascade effect, where collisions of two bits of trash results in four bits of trash, etc. It's not so bad now -- there have been three confirmed cases of impact of space debris with satellites. The Chinese ASAT test earlier this year, which constituted a deliberate addition to space debris, increased the junk content by something like 25%. Projections are not favorable.

Comment by High Heels on Lunar Junk: Who's in Charge of Cleaning Up the Moon?

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 05:58:31 EDT

Where are The Clangers when you need them?

Comment by Dirk Hanson on Lunar Junk: Who's in Charge of Cleaning Up the Moon?

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 02:46:53 EDT

It potentially builds on an existing problem: -------------- Space Debris a Growing Problem, NASA Report Says By Randolph E. Schmid AP Science Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - More than 9,000 pieces of space debris are orbiting the Earth, a hazard that can only be expected to get worse in the next few years. And currently there's no workable and economic way to clean up the mess. Space junk measuring 4 inches or more total some 5,500 tons, according to a report by NASA scientists J.-C. Liou and N. L. Johnson in the journal Science.

Comment by gonzo marx on Lunar Junk: Who's in Charge of Cleaning Up the Moon?

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 00:33:25 EDT

waitaminnit! the Article quotes a source saying - "The lunar surface will be crowded by next year," however, the surface area of the moon is 14658000 square miles or 9.4 billion acres. how in the name of Copernicus does anyone expect that much area to be "crowded" by a few tiny payloads from Earth? seriously... on top of that, ALL the stuff landed becomes the ONLY set of resources available to future trips besides whatever they bring up themselves...again, tiny payloads at best find me a venture capitalist with some balls, first thing is to get the Delta Clipper up and running...start with the orbital junk...gather all that sweet salvage payload to a single spot, sell material to the Space Station and future projects then start salvaging the Lunar goodies, same purpose...material components for future bases/projects...cheaper and more efficient to utilize the materials already there than ship from Earth... /end rant Excelsior?

Comment by duane on Lunar Junk: Who's in Charge of Cleaning Up the Moon?

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 23:05:09 EDT

Interesting, Dirk. Thanks for the report. My solution: just hide the stuff on the dark side of the moon where no one will have to look at it, thereby adopting the tried-and-true policy "You can't see it from my house."