Not too far from Earth is a giant space rock that has silently played host to just twelve people in its entire history. What would happen if we put our cosmic satellite to work by covering it with solar panels?
What would it take to build an enormous power plant on the Moon? How big would this facility be? And how much time would it take to finish this mega-construction?
Transcript and sources: https://insh.world/science/what-if-we-covered-the-moon-with-solar-panels/
Watch more what-if scenarios:
Planet Earth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-HhCwYD7rc&list=PLZdXRHYAVxTJCzxwmCq0NNpYq9N9wyb2l
The Cosmos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfuJyVkMH_g&list=PLZdXRHYAVxTJno6oFF9nLGuwXNGYHmE8U
Technology: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS3bBO05fpU&list=PLZdXRHYAVxTIeRY3JtgXgoGqSEB7kDdKO
Your Body: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmXR46TrbA8&list=PLZdXRHYAVxTJNsV9FFeNAKl2ySsHj8GZO
Humanity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdCDQIyXGnw&list=PLZdXRHYAVxTIFnvmOeWbv-Mt8zFxSCSvZ
About What If: Produced by Underknown in Toronto, Canada, What If is a mini-documentary web series that takes you on an epic journey through hypothetical worlds and possibilities. Join us on an imaginary adventure — grounded in scientific theory — through time, space and chance, as we ask what if some of the most fundamental aspects of our existence were different.
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Here are some Moon related videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFmPZv7LIdo&list=PLZdXRHYAVxTJ0fu5_g8FzqwOGQXhHEOPI&index=5
everything i research about solar panels always end up telling me that solar panels are an inefficient short lived and high maintenance source of energy, before doing anything like this we would have to make them stop being trash
You can do interesting experiments on the moon but the moon is worthless
Theres no money
It's a waste of money
130°C is too hot, not good for silicon at all. They would need some sort of thermal storage. Also the high energy UV from the sun, bad, very bad for semiconductor. Also moon dust, fine, light blocking, annoying.
We should put solar panels on the sun
Plus how long will those astronaut be out there, what will they eat or drink. Won't their bodies be unfit for earth after that. Where will the trash go. How will their plumbing systems be?
What if something small needs, will we need to train a machanic first then Send them to the moon.? Won't that take long?
How many rockets will be needed to go get the astronauts back to earth. How much fuel is that.
With the cost of the panels. The rockets, the fuel, salaries of the astronauts, money for training or money to rehab them when they come back from earth or die because of space sickness, Maintaining of the whole project. With all those costs. Will they generate enough electricity to cover it and stay in business?
How can they detact if a panel malfunctions or breaks, is it worth it to send someone out there to fix it? Esp if the panels are tightly packed.
Sending someone out there costs billions.
OK they could have someone up there already, but that someone is probably doing something else already. Stopping to go and fix a panel probably miles and miles away takes money. Esp In space were movement is weird. Takes time off the job which holds the project back. And it isn't like the astronaut's body isn't suffering from being in space already. So sending him something like 3 states (provinces) away just to fix a few solar panels probably isn't worth it.
Or they could have someone out there specifically for maintenance. But if nothing breaks then he's simply going to be out there wasting food for the other astronauts. His body is going to feel the affects of space for nothing too. And if some does happen it's still probably not worth it to to travel a distance that again is comparable to going a cross three or so provinces just to fix a few panels. He'll probably need equipment too. And even if he gets there. What happens if he finds that a lot of the panels are not repairable. Now the whole team has to relocate with all the cargo ti rebuild 😂. Money gone$$$.
if they have to wait until there are a lot of panels broken before they do something, cos one panel wouldn't make sense financially, then how much electricity will they generate from the experiment, especially considering how much they spend on building and maintaining. Will they make a profit in the end
How much of the electricity will make it back to earth anyways, won't the rays coming to earth from the moon get lost in the atmosphere partially? Meaning we don't get all the energy made by the panels to begin with?
The problem with the earth importing energy from anywhere, whether it be this concept or a dyson swarm, is that all energy ends up as heat, so that would be another source of warming in the long term. Better we learn how to use our energy more efficiently to fulfill the issues we need solving. Still its a better idea than nuclear reactors on the moon, although nuclear reactors might make sense to power electric propulsion in flight.
Great video, but terrible idea surrounding the Moon's equator with solar panels, maybe that's why they abandoned their plans over 10 years ago (7 years before this video was made). You don't want your solar panels in the dark for 2 weeks so to be smart you'd build them at the poles, above the surface where the sun never sets.
We should build a Death Star to conquer the galaxy! 😁
It would look more like the Death Star than anything else.
I will give $1 for those who make this possible before 2025 💀
The only 1 channel almost everyone watch without skipping 👊💥
Solar panels
🌚
Wouldn't it be riskier to cover the moon with solar panels & risk meteorite or asteroid impacts than riskier writing off planet earth while we discuss a better solution, why don't we just get on with the best method of keeping us all alive & 🌏 been the absolute priority 💚
Looks like an Ocean
It'll be like building the pymids on the moon
Interesting video
Isn't the moon moving away from the earth?
…
Meteorites :- I'm about to end this man's whole career
The most insane part about this is that I just watched a What If where everyone doesn't die.
Asteroids: Evil Laughter
Why not just build the panel ring on earth. The sheer size would compensate for bad weather
But what would happen if we made the lunar belt into a swarm of satellites?
Incredible!!!
More heat from outer space… That's sure to stop global warming!