/sci/ - Science & Math

>>9717369
We don't know how scarce it is.
>>aesthetics
the water is contained in dark craters, this won't noticeably change the view of the moon.

>>9716143
You seem to believe that lunar dust is basically acid that destroys absolutely everything. This is not the case. Mining volatiles such as water may in fact be easier than mining other materials. One way of mining water ice, is to heat up the soil with microwaves, suck up and chill anything that comes out. This has been demonstrated in the lab.
The paper below is absolutely worth reading if not only for the test setup made from a microwave oven:
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20070018802.pdf
That's what the lil' guy here is doing: >>9702692
Pic related is an unrealistic depiction of a microwave miner.
This also details how lunar ice might be mined
http://www.niac.usra.edu/files/studies/final_report/341Rice.pdf