this post was submitted on 05 Aug 2025
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chapotraphouse

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[–] take_five_moments@hexbear.net 23 points 6 days ago

yea sure fuck it why not

[–] Damarcusart@hexbear.net 26 points 6 days ago

Let me guess, this whole operation will be "managed" by AI.

[–] FnordPrefect@hexbear.net 21 points 6 days ago (3 children)

America can, should, must, and will blow up the moon!

btw, isn't a large volume of water, like, extremely important for nuclear reactors?

[–] Cat_Daddy@hexbear.net 11 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Yeah I don't know how else to use nuclear radiation to make power except by heating water into steam. I know nasa has played with tiny reactors for spacecraft, but I don't know how they work. Perhaps they have something like a solar panel sitting next to a uranium rod and it generates electricity from that instead of photons?

[–] revolut1917@hexbear.net 21 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

They take advantage of the Seebeck effect which is where a voltage is generated between two points in a conducting material when there's a temperature difference between them. Basically the nuclear material heats one piece of metal in the circuit, while another remains cold, and this produces a potential difference between the two that drives current through the circuit. Because space is very cold and nuclear materials are very hot, this produces a useful quantity of current. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioisotope_thermoelectric_generator

[–] Cat_Daddy@hexbear.net 13 points 6 days ago (2 children)

So they're going to have to scale this method way the fuck up to get to 100kw.

[–] revolut1917@hexbear.net 14 points 6 days ago

yeah it'd be very unfeasible

[–] ThorrJo@lemmy.sdf.org 3 points 6 days ago

yes, while space is cold, the vacuum means that nearly all the heat has to be shed by radiation (meaning e.g. infrared radiation, not nookyular radiation) rather than conduction & convection. so the more you scale it up, the bigger the heat sinks needed. think giant metal fins to radiate away the heat. eventually it becomes prohibitive.

interestingly, the 40KW NASA pilot project this proposal appears to be derived from is a Stirling engine, not a radioisotope thermal generator like on New Horizons, Cassini, etc.

a Stirling design converts much more of the heat to electricity than an RTG, but it has moving parts.

[–] Collatz_problem@hexbear.net 6 points 6 days ago

You can actually do without it, but it will be much more complex and several times more expensive.

[–] HexReplyBot@hexbear.net 2 points 6 days ago

I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:

[–] Ram_The_Manparts@hexbear.net 18 points 6 days ago (1 children)

To be fair, I think this is more than Mayo Pete ever did when he had this job

[–] MayoPete@hexbear.net 12 points 6 days ago

Idiot doesn't know these jobs are gifts and you're supposed to just sit and smile pete

[–] Nakoichi@hexbear.net 16 points 6 days ago

Interim NASA administrator guaido

the empire's reach continues to expand more and more fantastically, even as its grasp recedes faster and faster

[–] Xiisadaddy@lemmygrad.ml 15 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Well while were just saying were gonna do things I'm planning on terraforming Venus sometime next year. Anyone who wants to help hmu. Shouldnt take too long.

[–] Bruja@hexbear.net 2 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Human-breathable air floats like helium on Venus’s surface. If you want to put people on Venus quickly, the most Earth-like environment in the Sol system floats like 55km above the surface so could get people in a sky city with less trouble than terraforming.

[–] Xiisadaddy@lemmygrad.ml 2 points 6 days ago

I dont wanna live in a blimp tho.

[–] EatPotatoes@hexbear.net 13 points 6 days ago

I don’t care who is doing it. Sending people to the moon again feels so unnecessary when you got robots.

[–] QuillcrestFalconer@hexbear.net 12 points 6 days ago

They're gonna send a nuke to the moon and detonate it and say that's a nuclear reactor

[–] Cat_Daddy@hexbear.net 11 points 6 days ago

This is just cover for putting nukes on the moon, right?

[–] SorosFootSoldier@hexbear.net 10 points 6 days ago

Watch this shit is to power ai

[–] onwardknave@hexbear.net 8 points 6 days ago

I'm announcing a nuclear reactor in my pants.

[–] Enzyoo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 6 days ago

Good idea maybe the explosion won't send the moon out of orbit

What could possibly not happen?

[–] ShinkanTrain@lemmy.ml 6 points 6 days ago

Oil found on Moon

[–] MaoTheLawn@hexbear.net 2 points 6 days ago

they're going to blow up the moon

[–] revolut1917@hexbear.net 65 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (4 children)

TO POWER WHAT? WE DON'T HAVE A FUCKING MOONBASE

[–] Keld@hexbear.net 57 points 6 days ago (3 children)

It's like you've never heard of extension cords

[–] axont@hexbear.net 25 points 6 days ago (3 children)

That would make the moon wrap around the earth and then we'd be stuck. Imagine it being March 12th or whatever for eternity

Source: I played tetherball in 4th grade so imagine this probably works the same

[–] Keld@hexbear.net 15 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

As long as we sync it up with christmas everyone will be happy, duh. You guys just keep trying to find problems with this obviously perfect plan.

[–] StalinIsMaiWaifu@lemmygrad.ml 7 points 6 days ago

How about we build a really build Tesla tower

[–] Bartsbigbugbag@lemmy.ml 6 points 6 days ago (1 children)

No, no, we just put a giant slip ring around the entire earth, so it can rotate with the earth. Or more seriously, they can use microwave power transmission to send the power back to earth. Except, then it would be better to just use satellites because you can lock those in geosynchronous orbits so you’re not only getting power in a tiny window each night.

[–] axont@hexbear.net 11 points 6 days ago (1 children)

If we shoot microwaves at the earth from the moon does that mean I can hold up a hot pocket at the night sky when I want a hot pocket

[–] Asafum@feddit.nl 6 points 6 days ago

Who said food doesn't rain down from the sky? Roasted bird does every day now!

[–] InevitableSwing@hexbear.net 14 points 6 days ago

TRUMP MOON-POWER CRYPTO - $100K MINIMUM BUY IN

[–] Meh@hexbear.net 3 points 6 days ago

Space elevator, but it's just a bunch of orange extension cords daisy-chained together up to the moon.

[–] ComradeSpahija@hexbear.net 22 points 6 days ago

Burgerland is generously going to power the Sino-Russian moonbase

[–] 7bicycles@hexbear.net 12 points 6 days ago (1 children)

to be fair ideally you want the power source up there before the moonbase goes up

[–] CthulhusIntern@hexbear.net 6 points 6 days ago

That information has yet to be declassified, along with the bear problem it has.

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