Comments on: 3D printed moon-base http://boingboing.net/2013/02/02/3d-printed-moon-base.html Brain candy for Happy Mutants Wed, 22 May 2013 07:39:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 By: Matthew Petty http://boingboing.net/2013/02/02/3d-printed-moon-base.html#comment-1645525 Matthew Petty Mon, 04 Feb 2013 17:32:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=210335#comment-1645525 They could use the discarded shells of the indigenous turtle-creatures as roof shingles to protect against the regular meteorite storms. They could use the discarded shells of the indigenous turtle-creatures as roof shingles to protect against the regular meteorite storms.

]]> By: awjt http://boingboing.net/2013/02/02/3d-printed-moon-base.html#comment-1645350 awjt Mon, 04 Feb 2013 13:44:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=210335#comment-1645350  sawwwwweet!!!  sawwwwweet!!!

]]> By: MarcVader http://boingboing.net/2013/02/02/3d-printed-moon-base.html#comment-1645301 MarcVader Mon, 04 Feb 2013 11:45:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=210335#comment-1645301  My girlfriend thinks of bananas all the time.  My girlfriend thinks of bananas all the time.

]]> By: MarcVader http://boingboing.net/2013/02/02/3d-printed-moon-base.html#comment-1645299 MarcVader Mon, 04 Feb 2013 11:41:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=210335#comment-1645299 "Technological advance is an inherently iterative process. One does not simply take sand from the beach and produce a Dataprobe. We use crude tools to fashion better tools, and then our better tools to fashion more precise tools, and so on. Each minor refinement is a step in the process, and all of the steps must be taken." Chairman Sheng-ji Yang, "Looking God in the Eye" “Technological advance is an inherently iterative process. One does not simply take sand from the beach and produce a Dataprobe. We use crude tools to fashion better tools, and then our better tools to fashion more precise tools, and so on. Each minor refinement is a step in the process, and all of the steps must be taken.”
Chairman Sheng-ji Yang, “Looking God in the Eye”

]]> By: Preston Sturges http://boingboing.net/2013/02/02/3d-printed-moon-base.html#comment-1645204 Preston Sturges Mon, 04 Feb 2013 01:19:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=210335#comment-1645204 They'll say "It looks like Ikea got here first."  They’ll say “It looks like Ikea got here first.” 

]]> By: Preston Sturges http://boingboing.net/2013/02/02/3d-printed-moon-base.html#comment-1645098 Preston Sturges Sun, 03 Feb 2013 20:37:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=210335#comment-1645098 What about Magnus Larsson's scheme to transform the Sahara using bacterial cement solidify the dunes?  http://www.ted.com/talks/magnus_larsson_turning_dunes_into_architecture.html What about Magnus Larsson’s scheme to transform the Sahara using bacterial cement solidify the dunes? 

http://www.ted.com/talks/magnus_larsson_turning_dunes_into_architecture.html

]]> By: Preston Sturges http://boingboing.net/2013/02/02/3d-printed-moon-base.html#comment-1645097 Preston Sturges Sun, 03 Feb 2013 20:36:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=210335#comment-1645097 I recall a 1950s story where they found lunar water, generated hydrogen, and then used plasma torches to melt the rock.. I recall a 1950s story where they found lunar water, generated hydrogen, and then used plasma torches to melt the rock..

]]> By: Brandon Kiesling http://boingboing.net/2013/02/02/3d-printed-moon-base.html#comment-1645032 Brandon Kiesling Sun, 03 Feb 2013 18:53:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=210335#comment-1645032 http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/26/solar-sinter-solar-powered-3d-printer-turns-sand-into-glass-ren/ Solar sintering of desert sand into glass, how's that for a proof of concept? http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/26/solar-sinter-solar-powered-3d-printer-turns-sand-into-glass-ren/

Solar sintering of desert sand into glass, how’s that for a proof of concept?

]]> By: James Agenbroad http://boingboing.net/2013/02/02/3d-printed-moon-base.html#comment-1644910 James Agenbroad Sun, 03 Feb 2013 15:58:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=210335#comment-1644910  I wouldn't say that space is an optional luxury.  Rather PEOPLE in space is an optional luxury.  Lots of worthwhile uses for unmanned satellites in LEO and GEO.   I wouldn’t say that space is an optional luxury.  Rather PEOPLE in space is an optional luxury.  Lots of worthwhile uses for unmanned satellites in LEO and GEO. 

]]> By: timquinn http://boingboing.net/2013/02/02/3d-printed-moon-base.html#comment-1644818 timquinn Sun, 03 Feb 2013 06:44:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=210335#comment-1644818 Just think of it! Just think of it!

]]> By: Jake Rennie http://boingboing.net/2013/02/02/3d-printed-moon-base.html#comment-1644813 Jake Rennie Sun, 03 Feb 2013 05:54:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=210335#comment-1644813 I heard Disney World on Mars is considering 3d-printing a Haunted Mansion to combat censorship in a post-scarcity 1950s DIY technocracy, which will be crowdfunded by guerilla banana donations. Better get on it, Cory. I heard Disney World on Mars is considering 3d-printing a Haunted Mansion to combat censorship in a post-scarcity 1950s DIY technocracy, which will be crowdfunded by guerilla banana donations. Better get on it, Cory.

]]> By: Thomas Shaddack http://boingboing.net/2013/02/02/3d-printed-moon-base.html#comment-1644804 Thomas Shaddack Sun, 03 Feb 2013 05:28:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=210335#comment-1644804 It is possible. http://www.adafruit.com/blog/2011/06/24/3d-printer-use-sun-as-power-and-sand-as-source-material/ It is possible.
http://www.adafruit.com/blog/2011/06/24/3d-printer-use-sun-as-power-and-sand-as-source-material/

]]> By: Harbo http://boingboing.net/2013/02/02/3d-printed-moon-base.html#comment-1644729 Harbo Sun, 03 Feb 2013 00:44:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=210335#comment-1644729 What will the aliens in "n" billion years make of a moon covered with "flat-pack" houses orbiting a burnt cinder? What will the aliens in “n” billion years make of a moon covered with “flat-pack” houses orbiting a burnt cinder?

]]> By: Harbo http://boingboing.net/2013/02/02/3d-printed-moon-base.html#comment-1644728 Harbo Sun, 03 Feb 2013 00:41:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=210335#comment-1644728 Use the moon "printer" to start a linear accelerator and shoot "stuff" to Lagrange points....now we are talking! Use the moon “printer” to start a linear accelerator and shoot “stuff” to Lagrange points….now we are talking!

]]> By: plyx http://boingboing.net/2013/02/02/3d-printed-moon-base.html#comment-1644678 plyx Sat, 02 Feb 2013 21:44:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=210335#comment-1644678 My Dad and I are always discussing a future utopia according to Star Trek. He and I agree that one of the first requirements is the invention of replicators. Although a baby step, 3-D printers are the first step towards that goal.  /end of stating the obvious My Dad and I are always discussing a future utopia according to Star Trek. He and I agree that one of the first requirements is the invention of replicators. Although a baby step, 3-D printers are the first step towards that goal. 
/end of stating the obvious

]]> By: Michael Smith http://boingboing.net/2013/02/02/3d-printed-moon-base.html#comment-1644666 Michael Smith Sat, 02 Feb 2013 21:01:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=210335#comment-1644666 They made bricks early on but I don't know if that was technically 3D printing. They made bricks early on but I don’t know if that was technically 3D printing.

]]> By: Michael Smith http://boingboing.net/2013/02/02/3d-printed-moon-base.html#comment-1644665 Michael Smith Sat, 02 Feb 2013 21:00:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=210335#comment-1644665 Or just concrete maybe. I saw a block of concrete made from left over lunar dust. The nice thing about dust on the moon is that there is so much of it. Just scoop up normal regolith with an autonomous loader, sift it to get the fines then drop it straight into a machine which presumably makes walls. Or just concrete maybe. I saw a block of concrete made from left over lunar dust. The nice thing about dust on the moon is that there is so much of it. Just scoop up normal regolith with an autonomous loader, sift it to get the fines then drop it straight into a machine which presumably makes walls.

]]> By: anansi133 http://boingboing.net/2013/02/02/3d-printed-moon-base.html#comment-1644639 anansi133 Sat, 02 Feb 2013 19:34:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=210335#comment-1644639 Everything above LEO is orders of magnitude more expensive to reach than Antarctica. Look at the history of antarctic exploration, and it's a cultural luxury. It was only a weird little historical fluke that reaching the moon could be a stand-in stunt double for the political equivalent of putting atom bombs in low earth orbit. Were it not for that bit of showmanship, we'd have had orbital bombs by now.  My point is this: space is a purely optional luxury.  Nothing is going to drive humans into space through some sort of historical political magical thinking, we're going to go there for the same reasons we visit Antarctica. To put it another way: any future where space resources look competitive to what's already here, is about as grim as the future where we 'need' to go exploiting antarctic fossil fuels. That whole "Manifest Destiny- we go because it's there" only works when people of modest means can get there by their own sweat. I'm not much looking forward to a cold war with China just so we can try to pull another orbital shell game. There's no reason for China to want to run a race that the soviets already lost. Hell, they could just buy our space program for scrap prices, all they have to do is call in our debt to them. Everything above LEO is orders of magnitude more expensive to reach than Antarctica. Look at the history of antarctic exploration, and it’s a cultural luxury. It was only a weird little historical fluke that reaching the moon could be a stand-in stunt double for the political equivalent of putting atom bombs in low earth orbit. Were it not for that bit of showmanship, we’d have had orbital bombs by now.

 My point is this: space is a purely optional luxury.  Nothing is going to drive humans into space through some sort of historical political magical thinking, we’re going to go there for the same reasons we visit Antarctica.

To put it another way: any future where space resources look competitive to what’s already here, is about as grim as the future where we ‘need’ to go exploiting antarctic fossil fuels.

That whole “Manifest Destiny- we go because it’s there” only works when people of modest means can get there by their own sweat.

I’m not much looking forward to a cold war with China just so we can try to pull another orbital shell game. There’s no reason for China to want to run a race that the soviets already lost. Hell, they could just buy our space program for scrap prices, all they have to do is call in our debt to them.

]]> By: anansi133 http://boingboing.net/2013/02/02/3d-printed-moon-base.html#comment-1644634 anansi133 Sat, 02 Feb 2013 19:18:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=210335#comment-1644634 I imagine the first few print jobs could be making some heliostat mirrors. Then those mirrors could power up subsequent prints. I imagine the first few print jobs could be making some heliostat mirrors. Then those mirrors could power up subsequent prints.

]]> By: awjt http://boingboing.net/2013/02/02/3d-printed-moon-base.html#comment-1644613 awjt Sat, 02 Feb 2013 18:03:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=210335#comment-1644613 I was thinking there is unlimited sun-power to simply fuse the rock, or sinter it together.  It doesn't even have to go full molten, but just enough to get the bits to stick together.  A solar array, or mirrored heliostat collector could channel enough sunlight to achieve it. I was thinking there is unlimited sun-power to simply fuse the rock, or sinter it together.  It doesn’t even have to go full molten, but just enough to get the bits to stick together.  A solar array, or mirrored heliostat collector could channel enough sunlight to achieve it.

]]> By: Nick Peck http://boingboing.net/2013/02/02/3d-printed-moon-base.html#comment-1644601 Nick Peck Sat, 02 Feb 2013 17:30:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=210335#comment-1644601 Am I misremembering or wasnt this described in Kim Stanley Robinsons 'Red Mars'? Am I misremembering or wasnt this described in Kim Stanley Robinsons ‘Red Mars’?

]]> By: xian http://boingboing.net/2013/02/02/3d-printed-moon-base.html#comment-1644599 xian Sat, 02 Feb 2013 17:25:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=210335#comment-1644599 Is 3D printing with molten rock a thing? If not, it should be. Is 3D printing with molten rock a thing? If not, it should be.

]]> By: mindysan33 http://boingboing.net/2013/02/02/3d-printed-moon-base.html#comment-1644590 mindysan33 Sat, 02 Feb 2013 17:04:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=210335#comment-1644590 I'm noticing a space theme on BB today!  Good deal! So, maybe a bit off topic, but I think related given the nature of this project: just a general question about the future of space exploration that might interest the community here... if the first breakthroughs were propelled by Cold War geopolitical concerns and driven by public spending, and now there are no "commies" to beat into space (our existentialist "enemy", and I use this term loosely, are about as low-tech as it gets... I don't think the successors to OBL are looking to launch a satelite or land on mars...), what will drive the future of such projects? I notice here that you have something of a private-public partnership and that seems a common theme on things involving space exploration - the mars 2020 thing is privately funded, the guy who did that amazing space jump was sponsored by red bull, I think, etc and so on.... Is that how it will move forward from now on? Further, does that mean the commercialization of space, crass or otherwise? And if the next leap forward here is more privately than publicly funded, what does that mean as far as our relationship to it? Does that mean we no longer own it in the same way we do when NASA does something?  Does this mean a Futurama-like amusement park on the moon someday? Just some things I've been wondering about... I’m noticing a space theme on BB today!  Good deal!

So, maybe a bit off topic, but I think related given the nature of this project: just a general question about the future of space exploration that might interest the community here… if the first breakthroughs were propelled by Cold War geopolitical concerns and driven by public spending, and now there are no “commies” to beat into space (our existentialist “enemy”, and I use this term loosely, are about as low-tech as it gets… I don’t think the successors to OBL are looking to launch a satelite or land on mars…), what will drive the future of such projects? I notice here that you have something of a private-public partnership and that seems a common theme on things involving space exploration – the mars 2020 thing is privately funded, the guy who did that amazing space jump was sponsored by red bull, I think, etc and so on…. Is that how it will move forward from now on? Further, does that mean the commercialization of space, crass or otherwise? And if the next leap forward here is more privately than publicly funded, what does that mean as far as our relationship to it? Does that mean we no longer own it in the same way we do when NASA does something?  Does this mean a Futurama-like amusement park on the moon someday?

Just some things I’ve been wondering about…

]]> By: Conan Librarian http://boingboing.net/2013/02/02/3d-printed-moon-base.html#comment-1644583 Conan Librarian Sat, 02 Feb 2013 16:54:00 +0000 http://boingboing.net/?p=210335#comment-1644583 When reading about 3D printers, I always realize how visionary Cory's writings are.  When reading about 3D printers, I always realize how visionary Cory’s writings are. 

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