AMERICANALMANAC (Jonah Adams) - Lunar water supply could limit moon settlements to small outposts, new research finds
A peer-reviewed study warns that the moon's finite water ice reserves would run dry in as little as two years for a million-person city without recycling, a reality check aimed squarely at SpaceX's ambitious lunar colonization plans. Astronomers Martin Elvis and Jonathan McDowell published their findings in the journal Frontiers in Space Technologies, and the […] The post Lunar water supply could limit moon settlements to small outposts, new research finds appeared first on American Almanac .
A peer-reviewed study warns that the moon's finite water ice reserves would run dry in as little as two years for a million-person city without recycling, a reality check aimed squarely at SpaceX's ambitious lunar colonization plans. Astronomers Martin Elvis and Jonathan McDowell published their findings in the journal Frontiers in Space Technologies, and the numbers cut against the grand visions of sprawling lunar metropolises that have dominated space policy conversations in Washington and Silicon Valley alike. Even under the most optimistic water estimates, a large settlement would face hard physical limits that no amount of federal spending or private-sector enthusiasm can wish away. The study lands at a moment when both NASA and…Open