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Lunar 'Lawnmower' Devised for Moon Colonists

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the no-escaping-your-chores dept.

moon_unit_alpha writes "Future Moon residents may have to mow the lunar lawn. New Scientist Space reports that a planetary geologist has come up with a way to prevent Moon dust from sticking to space suits, getting into seals and damaging electronic and mechanical equipment - the lunar lawnmower. The mower could be hauled behind a lunar rover, generating microwaves that cause iron particles in the dust to clump together."

14 of 190 comments (clear)

  1. confused by BushCheney08 · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I thought part of the reason we want to go to the moon is to get away from the damage we've done to our own planet. So, the first thing we do when we go up there is start irradiating the ground so the dirt behaves the way we want it to...

    --
    Be a real patriot: Question authority. Think for yourself. Formulate your own conclusions.
    1. Re:confused by buswolley · · Score: 3, Insightful
      We are mankind.

      The dust doesn't give a f**k.

      This actually kills no species. There aren't any.

      Do you drive a car, mow your lawn, or use an electric or gas oven? Survival, at the least, is the most important factor.

      Have you seen the moon? It has been blasted by meteors thousands or millions or billions or trillions of times. Does a metoer have more rights than we? Do you think that moving a bit of dust around compares with those black blasted craters?

      Hell , I say terraform the moon, terraform Mars and Venus and terraform any damn gravity hole you like.

      --

      A Good Troll is better than a Bad Human.

    2. Re:confused by VolciMaster · · Score: 4, Insightful
      first thing we do when we go up there is start irradiating the ground so the dirt behaves the way we want it to

      Did I miss something? I have a hard time believing that the microwave generators they're proposing are any more harmful than the unmitigated cosmic radiation hitting the surface every second.

      --
      antipaucity
    3. Re:confused by venicebeach · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Of course if we were up there "mowing the lawn" there would be at least one vulnerable species there...

  2. What does one hug when there are no trees? by Guysmiley777 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    But that would be harming the Moon's environment! What's the emote for rolling eyes?

    --
    Coding with assembly is like playing with Legos. Coding an application in assembly is like building a car with Legos.
  3. lawn? by stoolpigeon · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Maybe I've read "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" too many times, but why would people be spending time on the surface if they did not need too? Wouldn't it make more sense to be spending more time below the surface?

    --
    It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
    1. Re:lawn? by Buddy_DoQ · · Score: 2, Insightful

      You have to be on the surface preparing for the dig before you could be underground, the number of people and sensitive equipment for a project like that would probably call for full time mowing services. Plus I don't imagine digging into the moon would be the best idea if the dangers of the dust and micro-rock shards is as bad as they say. Clear, Mow(dust), Tarp, Tent, just like camping! That's what I would do on the moon, but IANAA (I am not an astronomer)

      --
      -Buddy of DoQ
    2. Re:lawn? by Gilmoure · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Because we don't have nice underground warrens already built there? Will be a lot of work getting things set up. Yeah, eventually the surface area of habitat spaces will be not heavily trafficked. There will still be a lot of equipment and sensors up there.

      --
      I drank what? -- Socrates
    3. Re:lawn? by whitehatlurker · · Score: 2, Insightful
      You just need to read "A Fall of Moondust" as well. The dangers of moon dust are well documented there. ;-)

      The nickname of the device is a bit off though. It's a paving machine for the Moon. Why not call it something more appropriate?

      --
      .. paranoid crackpot leftover from the days of Amiga.
  4. Re:Damn... by Gulthek · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Why is the moon mower stored in a pressurized environment?

  5. Re:Damn... by buswolley · · Score: 2, Insightful
    On the moon kids will STILL want to stay inside and play their video games.

    nothing changes anymore.

    --

    A Good Troll is better than a Bad Human.

  6. Re:Damn... by TWX · · Score: 3, Insightful

    so maintenance can easily be performed upon it? I don't know about you, but I'm annoyed enough working on my car outdoors on this planet, when I'd much rather work on it in a garage where I can control lighting, temperature, and cleanliness of the workspace better than I can exposed...

    --
    Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
  7. Re:Damn... by TWX · · Score: 2, Insightful

    That may be true, but I've got to think that as a human, I'd rather increase the amount of survivable space to as much as I could afford or justify. It'd be a way of bringing some kind of feeling of home with me. Seeing as how it would probably be safest to store equipment under some kind of physical shield anyway it may as well be a pressurized environment to make things more comfortable for me.

    --
    Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
  8. Re:Simplest? by Gilmoure · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Shipping up tarps expensive. Send machine one time, make all the ash trays you need.

    --
    I drank what? -- Socrates