On Sat, 01 Jul 2006 04:44:43 -0400, Pat Flannery
wrote:


I hereby propose that we give forty cubic acres of space to anyone who
wants to pioneer it, provided that they liftoff on April 22nd aboard a
Conestoga rocket.

Forty acres on the moon might be a little more appealling, if it
weren't against the Outer Space Treaty...

Yes, but does that forty acres extend into the Lunar regolith regarding
mineral rights?

Whole piles of titanium down there.

There's a whole pile of titanium in my back yard, as well. Probably
yours too.

It is a silly myth that titanium is a really useful but really rare
material, that is common on the Moon and that we can start using to
e.g. build big strong featherweight 100-MPG cars once we can get it
from the Moon.

The reality is, titanium is common on the Moon, and it's common on
the Earth, and it's too damned much of a pain in the ass to extract
and work with to be worth the bother except for niche applications,
even if someone hands you unlimited quantities of ore for free. The
Moon's titanium isn't any easier to extract or work with than the
Earth's, and it is inconveniently located on the Moon rather than
on the Earth, so it isn't going to see much use at all.

Too many space enthusiasts have bought uncritically into the myth.

This should stop.


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