This FAQ is written and maintained by Dave Rogers.
Please direct any questions/comments/additions to me at the address below.
Dave Rogers ([email protected])
Chroming the Moon is a holy cause, although many would say not as holy as Paving. This dispute is largely irrelevant, there being no conflict at all between Moon Chroming and Paving. Both can be accomplished - it need not be a case of the one or the other. Chroming has many points in its favour:
Join the Cause! All that is required of you is:
The letters FAQ stand for Frequently Asked Questions. However, as yet very few questions have been asked about chroming the moon. In the meantime, it is intended that the FAQ will serve as a charter for the newsgroup and as a source of useful information for those working on practical moon chroming projects.
This newsgroup is intended for the discussion of topics related to covering the entire surface of the moon with strips of chrome. Topics may include (for example) engineering project proposals, philosophical discussions as to the value and relevance of chroming the moon, and discussions of a more religious nature concerning tie-ins between moon chroming and earth paving.
This is, of course, one of the major topics to be discussed. Not wishing to stifle creativity, here are a few simple suggestions.
Earth Moon
Mass 5.9*10^24 kg 7.35*10^22 kg
Escape velocity 11.2 km/s 2.38 km/s
Lunar dimensions: Radius (avg.) = 1738km
Surface area = 3.8*10^7 km^2 (approx.)
Volume = 2.2*10^10 km^3 ( " )
Distance Earth-Moon = 3.56*10^5 km (perigee)
= 4.07*10^5 km (apogee)
Reference: "The Solar System", Zdenek Copal, Oxford University Press 1972,
ISBN 0 19 888061 8
The Moon has an albedo (reflectivity) of 0.07, similar to that of coal dust or asphalt. This renders it imperative that it be chromium plated so that it can be distinguished from the Paved Earth [tm]. The atmospheric pressure at the lunar surface is lower than that obtained in high vacuum equipment. Lunar surface temperature varies between +127 and -173 degrees Celcius.
An estimate of the minimum energy required to transport mass from the Earth to the Moon can be obtained by taking the difference between kinetic energies at terran and lunar escape velocities. The result is an energy of approximately 60 megajoules per kilogramme of material transported. This assumes a perfectly efficient transportation system; expect real world answers to be many orders of magnitude higher.
According to Kopal, "[the moon's] content of titanium (and also chromium, zirconium and other metals) is very much higher than in the Sun or the Earth's crust [...] and the common elements like carbon or nitrogen are largely absent from the compounds found so far in the lunar crust."
Lots of chrome. No biodiversity. Just the way we like it.
The folowing is reproduced without permission from the 66th Edition of the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, CRC Press Inc., 1985-6, ISBN 0-8493-0466-0.
Chromium - (Gr. chroma, color), Cr; at. wt. 51.996; at. no. 24; m. p. 1857 +/- 20 deg. C; b. p. 2672 deg. C; sp. gr. 7.18 to 7.20 (20 deg. C); valence chiefly 2, 3, or 6. Discovered in 1797 by Vauquelin, who prepared the metal the next year. Chromium is a steel-gray, lustrous, hard metal that takes a high polish. The principal ore is chromite (FeCr2O4), which is found in Zimbabwe, U.S.S.R., Transvaal, Turkey, Iran, Albania, Finland, Democratic Republic of Madagascar, and the Phillipines. The metal is usually produced by reducing the oxide with aluminium. Chromium is used to harden steel, to manufacture stainless steel, and to form many useful alloys. Much is used in plating to create a hard, beautiful surface and to prevent corrosion. Chromium is used to give glass an emerald green color. It finds wide use as a catalyst. All compounds of chromium are colored; the most important are the chromates of sodium and potassium (K2CrO4) and the dichromates (K2Cr2O7) and the potassium and ammonium chrome alums, such as KCr(SO4)2.12H2O. The dichromates are used as oxidizing agents in quantitative analysis, also in tanning leather. Other compounds are of industrial value; lead chromate is chrome yellow, a valued pigment. Chromium compounds are used in the tanning industry as mordants, and by the aircraft and other industries for anodizing aluminum. The refractory industry has found chromite useful for forming bricks and shapes, as it has a high melting point, moderate thermal expansion, and stability of crystalline structure. Chromium conpounds are toxic and should be handled with proper safeguards.
Chromium is relatively common, ranking about 21st in elemental abundance in the Earth's crust. This is very fortunate because Quite A Lot [tm] will be needed to cover the Moon.
Scarce Natural Resources. Various substances have been placed on this Earth for the convenience of its inhabitants (us) and for utilisation in our various schemes and projects. To leave any of these SNRs unused would be an act of blasphemy and cosmic ingratitude. All Earth Pavers (tm) and Moon Chromers (tm) are dedicated to the expenditure of all SNRs in the service of humanity.
An allied aim is the reduction of biodiversity. One of the scarcest of natural resources is the range of plant and animal species available to us. These, like all other resources, must be completely used up. Earth Pavers (tm) aim to reduce the number of species to those absolutely necessary to produce beer and cheeseburgers. Moon Chromers (tm) should of course note that there are at present no known biological sources of chrome.
The original suggestion, in V1.0 of the alt.pave.the.earth FAQ, was to cover the moon in strips of chromium plated steel. While this has the advantage of low-tech simplicity, it lacks the elegance and sheer waste that we have come to expect of major engineering projects. Some other suggestions include electroplating, requiring the construction of a rather large tank for immersion of the entire moon, and vacuum evaporation, aided by the fact that the vacuum is already there so we won't need an equally large bell jar. The most recent suggestion, which I can only describe as breathtaking in scope and vision, is presented at this site - a must-see for all would-be Moon Chromers.
NASA has of course staged several lunar landing missions, and as a result there is almost certainly more chromium on the moon than there used to be. Max Natzet kindly contributed the following.
"I'll have to preface this by admitting that Apollo was a bit before my tenure here at NASA but I don't believe that any pure chrome components were included in the landers. Not a significant quantity in any case. However, Stainless Steel is about 15% Chrome and was probably used extensively throughout the propulsion systems. My wild guess would be that the motors represent about 1/3 of the weight of the lander modules of which maybe half was stainless steel."
NASA's WWW pages yield the information that six landings were made on the moon. In each case, the lunar descent module was necessarily left behind, additionally the spent 3rd stage from Apollo 14 impacted on the moon.
Unmanned probes that have crashed or landed on the moon include:
American
Ranger 4, 6, 7, 8, 9
Lunar Orbiter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Surveyor 1, 3, 5, 6, 7
Russian
Luna 2, 5, 7-9, 13, 15-18, 20, 21, 23 and 24 landed on the moon, depositing a total mass of 52962kg.
Luna 10-12, 14, 19 and 22, with a combined mass of 17760 kg, were lunar orbiters. This has no placed chrome on the moon, but it has placed it *near* the moon, and the economics of somehow forcing them to land or crash on the surface will have to be investigated.
Luna 17 and 21 fufilled the most holy and true purpose of placing an automobile on the moon.
Luna 16, 20 and 24 each included 470 kg return vehicles, which blasphemously returned to earth.
Japanese
The Japanese Hiten spacecraft was crashed into the moon a year or two ago.
Any further information about these vehicles, and particularly their chromium content, would be very much appreciated.
On a slightly different tack, this article details plans to launch a large reflective object into Earth orbit, presumably as a marketing exercise to demonstrate the vast benefits a chromed moon will bring. Clearly the breakup of the former Soviet Union has not been allowed to stand in the way of this, the most vital work of mankind.
If you have any comments, suggestions or ideas, practical, speculative or totally insane, post them to a.c.t.m. If you have any corrections or any additional information for this FAQ, please e-mail them to me.
Alexis for basic concepts, presidential address and vetting the FAQ.
Max Natzet (at the risk of his immortal soul) for info towards section 6.
Gavin Peters for information on Russian space missions. Gavin wishes it
to be known that he is in no way associated with the Chrome Moon Faction.
Apologies to Max Natzet for spelling his name wrong.
Dave Rogers
Prez of the Chrome Moon Faction.
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