Discovery of water ice nearly everywhere in the solar system
During the last decade we have discovered sources of accessible water in some form nearly everywhere in the solar system. Water ice has been found on the planet Mercury; probably on the Earth`s Moon; on Mars; on near Earth objects; on comets whose orbits frequently come close to that of Earth`s orbit; probably on Ceres, the largest inner asteroid; and on comets previously and incorrectly considered to be out of practical reach. The comets also provide massive quantities of hydrocarbons, similar to oil shale. The masses of either water or hydrocarbons are measured in units of cubic kilometers. The water is key to space transportation because it can be used as a rocket propellant directly, and because thermal process alone can be used to convert it and hydrocarbons into hydrogen, the highest performing rocket propellant. This presentation outlines what is currently known about the locations of the water ice, and sketches the requirements and environments of missions to prospect for and assay the water sources.
- Research Organization:
- Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC07-94ID13223
- OSTI ID:
- 114647
- Report Number(s):
- INEL-95/00106; CONF-9506271-1; ON: DE96001614
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 3. international symposium on mine mechanization and automation, Golden, CO (United States), 12-14 Jun 1995; Other Information: PBD: [1995]
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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