On 6/15/07, Tom McCabe <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: (...)
Also, simply crashing an asteroid onto the planet will vaporize all the ore and scatter it for dozens of kilometers in every direction.
(...)
I talked about a controlled crash, where dispersion and vaporization would tend to be minimized. I don't think it is impossible, for we have seen a great number of metallic meteors hitting the ground and still remaining relatively preserved. And that in uncontrolled conditions... By the way, although I ultimately agree with you that mining the Moon is difficult (it is the "slag pile of Solar System", using Zubrin's words), I wouldn't discard the possibility that some crater bottoms have high concentrations of many minerals - specially metals. Remnants of the asteroid impacts that created them. However, so far this is just a conjecture, while in the case of asteroids we already have a wealth of data supporting the view that mining them will be much easier. ----- This list is sponsored by AGIRI: http://www.agiri.org/email To unsubscribe or change your options, please go to: http://v2.listbox.com/member/?member_id=4007604&user_secret=7d7fb4d8
