Re: Nasa-funded study: industrial civilisation headed for 'irreversible collapse'?[W:
Care to name a power plant for providing heat and light which runs off of hydrogen or oxygen?
Using rocket fuel is certianly using an energy source but every energy source is not viable for every energy need. Just as the applications for internal combustion are limited( one cannot launch a rocket into space using a fossil fuel internal combustion engine ) the applications for hydrogen and oxygen are limited.
Water is constantly recycled by the earth not by people. The moon has no ecosystem to recycle water and we have found the the idea of artificially recycling water for a permanent habitat is beyond our grasp.
The atmosphere filters sun light which ALLOWS plants to grow. Lack of such atmosphere ( and lack of magentic field ) means too much radiation and sun light to allow plant growth.
The water found is SIGNIFICANT but that is a highly subjective term. Much of what your link talks about is theory which is far beyond our current level of technology to exploit. This is why the article constantly refers to potential much the same way gravity is a potential energy source but we are a long way from harnassing it for any meaningful application.
My resource argument is compltely factual yours is more akin to science fiction
NASA - Habitation Systems Project - NASA's Deep Space Habitat
Perhaps you should read up on where we are at before making predictions about what cannot be done. NASA has been doing various space habitat studies for decades.
This should interest you since you're concerned about food.
NASA - LED Lights Used in Plant Growth Experiments for Deep Space Missions
We use semi-closed nuclear systems on submarines, or maybe the are fully closed, don't know that much about their power plants, since the 1950s. Really think it is that hard to add cooling tubes to reclaim the water and re-use it? Nuclear reaction causes heat, heat turns water to steam, steam turns turbines, turbines turn generators, generators make electricity. Recycle the water and repeat. Not to mention lots and lots of room for solar panels without the atmosphere soaking up energy or reflecting back into space.
Recycling water is easy, heat until turned to steam, run steam through cooling loops, you get distilled water. Put in a lead lining to block radiation and you probably could recycle water while generating electrical power.
Those plants up there that they can grow with LEDs need fertilizer. Well, what do you know, what comes out of us after eating plants contains a lot of what those plants need. So after separating out the water, burn or heat to level to kill bacteria, feed to plants.
Oxygen, hmm, lets see, humans and other animals take in oxygen, give off CO2. Plants take in CO2 and give off oxygen. Guess they need enough plants to augment the scrubbers.
Bone density problem is easily solved by generating a sort of artificial gravity, kind of like a hamsters wheel. Just make sure everyone spends enough time in there.
