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NASA's More Obscure Lunar Research
MickDownUnder writes "Ever wondered what the moon smells like (and no it's not like wensleydale) ?
Or how good the skiing is there?
If you do decide to hit the lunar slopes you may want to take a torch with you in case you run into your own shadow."
...that was one of the things they used on the set when they filmed the moon landing. ;-)
You are in a maze of little twisting passages, all different.
It's extremely interesting how the Apollo 15 astronauts went skiing on the moon. It might suggest a better mode of transport than the buggy they used. Instead of bothering with four wheels, perhaps they really need a Snowmobile? (Or would that be a lunarmobile? Perhaps a dustmobile?) Skiing along like that might allow them to expend less battery power on locomotion, and move from place to place much faster. Having retractable treads so that they can glide might not be such a bad idea either.
:-P
I'll have to patent this now and then charge megabucks for the idea when Moonbase Alpha goes in. At least I'll be able to collect up until the moon gets blown out of orbit.
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
Water and wind to be specific. All that tumbling around takes the sharp edges off the sand grains.
I imagine the sand/dust on Mars will be closer in quality to the sand & dust on Earth, than the Moon's.
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
I can't believe how TFA goes on about the moon dust being "formed by violence." This is not not proven fact; it is opinion. It is not NASA's place, nor should it be to make a declaration such as this about the nature of moon dust that discounts intelligent design by a creator. And a benevolent creator would certainly not form anything by violence!
This is more than a science issue, it is a religious issue. And I would hate to think that young people would only be getting one-half of this debate from NASA. That would mean we had failed to properly educate the very people who rely on us for factual information the most.
Since the weather on the moon will not replenish the "powder" upslope in anything resembling a useful timeframe on the scale of human lives (or even human civilizations), that will be the end of that. No more "powder" on the slope and no more "skiing."
Which, I suppose, is by way of wondering what other unwitting long-term effects the presence of people on the moon may wind up causing.
Is it fascism yet?
I think the superfine stuff on Earth gets picked up by our ubiquitous flowing water and turned into mud, which over geological time gets turned into shale, sandstone, and other sedimentary rock. That is, what we call "sand" on Earth consists of grains too large to be suspended in water. There's a lower limit on the size of "sand" on Earth that doesn't apply to "sand" on the Moon.
The same reason everything tastes like chicken. The designers of the Matrix did not expect Humans to go sniffing moon dust so there was no pre-determined smell for it and some agent panicked and smacked the "spent gunpowder" smell instead of the "it's just a rock" smell.
Government's view of the economy: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving,regulate it. If it stops moving, subsidize it.
Notice how the upper portions, facing the sky, of the module are dark, while the parts angled downwards are bright? It's reflecting the light bouncing off of the surface of the moon- but the surface doesn't reflect light onto itself, and thus when it is shadowed, it is rather dark.
"Quoting yourself is stupid." -Me
It's not the smell that's the problem. It's the fact that moon dust is mostly what is effectively powdered glass. Do you want that in your lungs?
It's time for Operation Crazy Plan.
Many people in my surroundings tell me I'm mad when I tell them that we msut certainly send people to the moon and to Mars, just because it's cool and we can do it. They tell me that it is risky and costs a lot of money. Sure they are right, but we wouldn't be where we are now if we didn't undertake expensive and risky projects now and then. In my opinion going to the moon is the coolest thing humans have ever done, and I can't wait until people will travel to Mars, or back to the moon. Apart from the coolness factor, maybe it's good to have an event that will be followed worldwide by people of all religions and backgrounds, just to bring us a bit closer together again. The world needs that.
-- Cheers!
That was one of the more interesting articles I've ever seen featured on Slashdot. Too bad it was relegated to the back burner.
Proverbs 21:19
While you are correct that water will preferentially suspend finer grains, sand is commonly suspended in any flow that's fast or deep enough. Sand blows through river systems pretty quickly on geologic timescales.
Your are right to point out, though, that this eventually ends up in rock again in some form or another. And this rock gets exhumed and eroded into big particles, some of which may break further down to sand, silt, clay...
So the answer lies in the fact that on earth, additional large debris is generated along with fine debris. On the Moon, it's the same stuff sitting around getting hammered over and over by meteorites. It ends up very fine and very pointy.