Blue Origin: Cutting Edge

[quintessentone]

I think these are significant steps in furthering our exploration of our solar system. They are basically going to make a landing/refuelling station on the moon, is how I read this.

""Prior to the end of this decade, we will be landing two crews on the lunar surface.""



"First moonshot
 Couluris underscored a key challenge that Blue Origin is working on — figuring out a way to make hydrogen and oxygen storable for appreciable lengths of time. These are the propellants for Blue Origin's BE engine line, which powers the Mark 1 and Mark 2 landers and the Transporter.
 
Success in this area would therefore be huge, Couluris said.
 
"This opens up the solar system," making the moon a kind of JFK airport, according to Couluris.
And Blue Origin is making serious progress on its lander propulsion system, he added."

https://www.space.com/astronomy/moon/lun...r-the-moon

Mark 2 Lander:

[quintessentone]

From imagination, to drawing board, to reality.

[Mantiss2021]

Above ground storage on the lunar surface is not, IMO, a good, long-term idea. Especially if your plans depend upon readily available fuel reserves being stored in tanks exposed to micro- and meteoroid strikes.

You might well find yourself pulling up to the "filling station", your fuel Guage on "Empty", only to find that the gas station has been perforated to worthlessness.

Might be better to locate a water ice field under the lunar regolith, then use the available solar energy to melt and crack the liquid water into hydrogen and oxygen as needed, with little to no storage on site.

[BeyondKnowledge]

Hydrogen leaks no matter what you try to store it in. The atoms are the smallest and just slowly pass through materials. That is one of the reasons Starship uses methane. It is easily stored and can be made on Mars. While methane has less energy per mass than hydrogen, it doesn't pass through solid tanks.

[quintessentone]

I am sure the rocket scientists have considered all the issues involved.

Another giant leap for mankind and further exploration of our solar system!

I hope I am around when Mark 2 is up and running on the moon.

[quintessentone]

I thought I'd share this NASA newly developed and very impressive space suit technology which will allow us to have the hope and potential to actually live and work on the very sticky destroy-everything dusty moon.

This video starts off hokey but it's worth the watch. Enjoy.