February 5, 2021 Zimmerman/Batchelor podcast
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Embedded below the fold in two parts.
Please consider donating to Behind the Black, by giving either a one-time contribution or a regular subscription, as outlined in the tip jar below. Your support will allow me to continue covering science and culture as I have for the past twenty years, independent and free from any outside influence.
Your support is even more essential to me because I keep this site free from advertisements and do not participate in corrupt social media companies like Google, Twitter, and Facebook. I depend wholly on the direct support of my readers.
You can provide that support to Behind The Black with a contribution via Patreon or PayPal. To use Patreon, go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation. For PayPal click one of the following buttons:
If Patreon or Paypal don't work for you, you can support Behind The Black directly by sending your donation by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman, to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
Bob, sorry if this has been covered in an earlier post, but in all the discussions here and other places about creating underground environments for habitation on the Moon, Mars and other locations, has there been any proof of concept work done on Earth? Or, is assumed the technology is so basic that no proof of concept is needed? Thanks.
@Gary I would think the concept of TBM (Tunnel Boring Machinery) is fairly well advanced today, so you should be able to bring one or two with you. These things leave a concrete-lining, so you need to source the concrete or bring it with you from Earth.
Don’t bring concrete from Earth. That is a complete waste of resources. Develop concrete from local sources on the moon. That is where we need to develop technology. Boring tech is well, boring at this point.
Joe–
my genius Plan:
Some sort of concrete-esque admixture made with indigenous materials + polymers, so when it sets, it’s airtight.
I was thinking more of the discussions about using lava tubes that exist. Seems to me the issue of sealing up the lava tubes would be a different scenario than drilling passageways in solid ground. You wouldn’t have to drill, but sealing the area off might be more challenging. We have lots of lava tubes on earth. I’m just wondering if anyone has tried to create a living environment in one of those to prove out the concept.
Gary–
I’d be interested in studies on how shotcrete (or similar) behaves off-world.