In reply to Jones Beene's message of Sun, 18 Dec 2022 20:55:06 +0000 (UTC): Hi, [snip] > Even so - isn't it true that the bottom line is that it will be far cheaper > to make solar cells, given the abundance of silicon on the moon - and get > electrical power that way compared with fusion. > >Far far far cheaper.
There may be a few places near the poles of the Moon where the Sun always shines. Note however that, at the equator, the Lunar night is two weeks long. So without a very large energy storage system the Solar cells may not be much use. A working fusion reactor would provide constant power, and the mine could also potentially provide fuel for a fusion powered shuttle to colonize the Solar system. Only a small percentage of the mass of such a shuttle would need to be devoted to fuel, and it could accelerate/decelerate at 1 g providing for both a comfortable and fast trip. Furthermore, I'm not sure how long Solar cells last on the Moon, given constant bombardment by high energy particles. [snip] Cloud storage:- Unsafe, Slow, Expensive ...pick any three.
