Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Moonquake-Proof Moonbases Needed?
Moonquake-proof habitats? Clive R. Neal, associate professor of civil engineering and geological sciences at the University of Notre Dame, believes that special construction for moonbases may be necessary if we persist in our goal to return to the Moon.
Information about moonquakes comes from the seismometers placed on the Moon by Apollo astronauts from 1969 through 1972. The instruments placed by the Apollo 12, 14, 15 and 16 functioned perfectly until switched off in 1977.
(Buzz Aldrin deploys a seismometer in the Sea of Tranquility)
According to NASA, there are at least four different kinds of moonquakes:
- deep moonquakes (~700 km below the surface, probably caused by tidal in origin)
- meteorites impact vibrations
- thermal quakes (the frigid lunar crust expands sunlight returns after the two week lunar night)
- shallow moonquakes (20 or 30 kilometers below the surface)
Little is known about the causes, or the distribution, of shallow moonquakes. One possible explanation is that relatively young craters may slump. Neal and his colleagues are proposing that a network of 12 seismometers be placed around the moon to gather data; this would be part of the larger plan to find safe lunar bases.
So, who was first to work on the problem of moonquake-proof habitats? Robert Heinlein is a good candidate: he made some suggestions in his 1948 story Gentlemen, Be Seated, which takes place on the Moon as a new colony is expanding. First, he identifies the problem:
"Every engineering job has its own hazards," he insisted, "and its advantages, too. Our men don't get malaria and they don't have to watch out for rattlesnakes...""Okay, okay," I interrupted, "so the place is safe... So you keep unnecessary airlocks. Why?"
He hesitated before he answered, "Quakes."
Quakes. Earthquakes-moonquakes, I mean.
(Read more about moonquake-proof habitats)
One solution that is offered is that of extra airlocks; by compartmentalizing your walkway or habitat, you can cut your losses. The second suggestion is that of flexible joints:
"Show him a flexible joint," Knowles directed. "Coming up." We paused half-way down the tunnel and Konski pointed to a ring segment that ran completely around the tubular tunnel. "We put in a flex joint every hundred feet. It's glass cloth, gasketed onto the two steel sections it joins. Gives the tunnel a certain amount of springiness."
(Read more about moonquake-proof habitats)
As a final suggestion, to be used during emergencies when relatively small leaks might result from quakes (or other causes), Heinlein suggests the use of "tag-alongs:"
There were perhaps a dozen bladder-like objects in the tunnel, the size and shape of toy balloons. They seemed to displace exactly their own weight of air; they floated without displaying much tendency to rise or settle. Konski batted one out of his way and answered me before I could ask."This piece of tunnel was pressurized today," he told me.
"These tag-alongs search out stray leaks. They're sticky inside. They get sucked up against a leak, break, and the goo gets sucked in, freezes and seals the leak."
(Read more about tag-alongs)
And beyond the Moon? One of the seismometers carried to Mars by the U.S. Viking landers during the mid-1970's remained operational. Only one possible marsquake was detected in 546 Martian days. The Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft detected what appeared to be changes to the Martian surface; Michael Meyer, chief scientist for the mission, speculated that the changes might have been caused by marsquakes.
Read more about moonquakes at NASA and Space.com. Thanks to Troy and Fred Kiesche for contributing the tip on this story.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 3/16/2006)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 1 )
Related News Stories - (" Space Tech ")
ISS Plagued By Leak - Again!
'There were perhaps a dozen bladder-like objects in the tunnel...' - Robert Heinlein, 1948.
Sunbird Pulsar Fusion Like Leinster's Space Tug
'It was a pushpot, which could not possibly be called a jet plane because it could not possibly fly. Only it did.' - Murray Leinster, 1953.
Crystalline Structures In Space, You Say?
A massive space borne lifeform from ST:TNG.
Amazing Photonic Crystal Light Sail
'That sail will be twenty thousand miles at the wide part.' - Cordwainer Smith, 1960.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Grok And The City Fathers From 'Cities In Flight' By James Blish
'Chris, the City Fathers are not interested in your welfare; I suppose you know that. They're interested in only one thing: the survival of the city.'
Why Not Move A Warehouse District?
'Did you never see a moving house before?'
Will An AI Found A New Religion?
'You must decide how you will worship Me.'
Terraformer Industries Make Methane
'Drake was the young spatial engineer he employed to terraform the little rock...'
I Need An Outdoor Spherical Display
'Usually a spherical display hovered in the centre...'
Worm Disrupts Physics Simulations Undetected For A Decade
'It diverts integers of the data, the fundamental message-units, so that they no longer agree.'
Muxcard Redditor's DIY Credit Card-Sized Computer
It's a computer, but just barely.
'Soft Assembly' Fashions That Fashion Themselves On The Wearer
'Clothes are no longer made from dead fibers of fixed color and texture that can approximate only crudely to the vagrant human figure...'
Orwell's Nightmare Of AI-Written Novels Comes To Pass
'Books were just a commodity that had to be produced, like jam or bootlaces.'
ISS Plagued By Leak - Again!
'There were perhaps a dozen bladder-like objects in the tunnel...'
Ridiculous 'Ghost Murmur' Tech Still Science Fiction
'...it rears and spreads its fan. It can pick one man out of a crowd.'
Outdoor Video Screens Can Be Arbitrarily Large
The Shape of Things To Come
Infrared Contact Lenses To See In The Dark
'I can see in the dark, Case.'
What'll You Have? Extinct Animals Returned, Or Synthetic Eggshells?
'...a new plastic with the characteristics of an avian eggshell.'
Sunbird Pulsar Fusion Like Leinster's Space Tug
'It was a pushpot, which could not possibly be called a jet plane because it could not possibly fly. Only it did.'
RentAHuman App Lets AI Agents Hire Humans
'She wouldn't stop until Antar had told her everything he knew about whatever it was that she was playing with on her screen.'
