Space Elevator - Traveling from Earth to Moon or Moon to Earth

When it comes to going to space for exploration or collecting samples or deep space exploration, it all start from the starting point Earth and leaving Earth is the most difficult to do because gravity is continuously pulling everything downwards, we build rockets? Yes but they cost too much. So cost is the problem? No it’s our ideas that don’t work. We need more science fiction ideas. A scientist imaged an idea of a space elevator that can take pretty much anything from Earth to Space or at least Earth’s orbit to reduce the costs of rockets but to build a space elevator the cost is still too high and we are still trying to find the strongest materials for building a space elevator wire, like for example the “Carbon Nano Tubes” for building the strongest wire that can hang all the way down from Earth’s orbit to Earth. Great idea, I know but still it’s a science fiction story, nothing wrong with that, research is being done to make this a reality but it will take too much time. So is there are better idea out there?
Do share below in comments if you have any ideas of your own, at least close to reality but not totally science fiction or simply improve my idea by adding your additional thoughts.

My Idea

Why not build a space elevator from Earth’s orbit to the Moon or from Moon to Earth’s orbit, powered by solar farm on the moon, protected by laser guided defense system to prevent any damages from space junk etc. Building such platform will require starting from Moon to Earth’s orbit because the gravity is lower on the moon and also because will need electricity for the working robots that do maintenance work like cleaning and building parts in space, recycling, building structures for living and working, etc… but it can also start from our International Space Station (ISS) too or at least we can build a station near ISS. Now some of you might be thinking; hey! We are still using rockets! What’s the idea and how does this help us in reducing the costs? I recently remembered that the Moon is always facing the same side and the back of the Moon is never visible on Earth, no matter where you are on Earth. This Moon’s rotation around Earth makes it easy for us to attach a wire on the Moon’s surface and then connect the other end with a station near Earth’s orbit. Remember in the start I said costs are the problem and rockets cost too much, so if you wish to send something into space you can add the rock expensive with it making it either difficult or impossible do that task/research. So the right question to ask is: How is this base on the Moon going to benefit us in bring the costs down? I will answer later after explaining some details.
Once we have a base on the Moon and a wire that leaves the Moon base all the way to near Earth’s orbit, rockets that get fired from Earth only need to reach the Earth’s orbit base and get attached and will be pulled using the electricity generated from the Moon’s Solar farm. Basically we can pull anything even entire rocket without consuming any additional rocket fuel, allowing us to travel back and forth with less fuel load. At this point we will have a Moon Base powered with electricity and an effective way of to reach Moon base and back to Earth’s orbit. Living in the International Space Station isn’t easy as it may sound, no gravity is a huge problem and our Moon may have little gravity but it’s better than nothing, Moon base can have large spaces for working and mining Moon’s resources will reduce the costs of Earth to Moon travel and increase research done as compared to now that is nearly dead.

Moon orbiting the Earth and the back side of the Moon is never visible on Earth.

Moon’s gravity is going to pull an incoming object that is attached to the wire that gravity will also pull the wire with that object when breaks are applied to avoid the crash. However, if the wire’s other end is near Earth’s orbit then the other end is wire is going to be pulled by Earth’s gravity, canceling Moon’s gravitational effect on the object and wire. The gravitational pull from both Earth and the Moon will keep the wire starched just right, otherwise the Moon’s base will adjust the wire’s flexibility as needed by releasing or pulling the wire as needed. Building a space elevator from Earth to Earth’s orbit is not going to be easy because we have to clear space junk from Earth’s orbit and the wire that’s hanging is going to have a many difficulties from Earth’s atmosphere. But from Earth’s orbit station to Moon base isn’t going to have that many difficulties.

Next and most important part of the puzzle

Answer: Next we need to drop a pipe like tube that is strong as it will hang from Earth’s orbit all the way down to Earth’s atmosphere from where it will suck Oxygen and even Water vapor from the air all the way back to the Earth’s orbit station and send back to the Moon base for growing vegetation, drinking, construction, etc.. At this point humans can live on Moon for longer then we currently live in ISS or any space station in Earth’s orbit. The costs from Earth to Moon will be reduce at a faster rate and research will be done much faster. Next how do we reduce the cost of getting the rockets to space? This is going to happen by mining the Moon for rare resources like "Helium 3" and sending back to Earth. Moon also has some frozen water that can be processed for building structures and even drinking.

The Moon's Vast Riches

The moon's vast riches include: Gold, cobalt, iron, palladium, platinum, tungsten and helium-3. Helium-3 is a gas that can be used in future fusion reactors to provide nuclear power with no radioactive waste that can even power the Moon’s bases and sent back to Earth. Solar Farms will also play a great roll in powering the Moon.

Palladium

Used for electronics and industrial purposes, limited on Earth, pushing the prices up to $784 an ounce can be mined on Moon and sent back to Earth with other countless resources that may reduce the costs of rockets and deep space travel.

Helium-3

A projected value of $40,000 per ounce and 220 pounds of helium-3 would be worth about $141 million. Because the concentration of helium-3 on the Moon is extremely low on Moon, it would still be necessary to process large amounts of rock and soil to separate the material. However, Helium-3 and other rare resources will extracted in the same process. Digging a patch of lunar surface roughly three-quarters of a square mile to a depth of about 9 ft. should yield about 220 pounds of helium-3 -enough to power a city the size of ‘Dallas’ or ‘Detroit’ for a year. If we can extract even the smallest amounts to power the Moon then we can use the same power generated from helium-3 for further mining operations. The costs for building and mining for such resources will be high during the beginning of the process but will be reduced over time, such mega structure requires global support as no one owns the Moon. Who owns the Moon is the question being asked these days as United States, Russia and China are among the few who can land on the Moon and other nations are on their way as well.
My answer is simple: No one should own the Moon, “HUMANS OWN THE MOON”. I think Moon needs to be globally shared, resources should be share as according the contributions by each nation. It’s not going to be easy and Moon’s resources should not use for weapons developments, if we work as one we might not waste time and Moon’s resources. There needs to be an international organization that manages the resources, research and development of the Moon and protects the Moon’s future bases.

Lunar Water - Most Important Resource on the Moon

In March 2010, NASA's Mini-RF instrument, a lightweight, synthetic aperture radar, has discovered more than 40 permanently darkened craters near the Moon's North Pole that may contain an estimated 600 million metric tonnes (1.3 trillion pounds) of frozen water. These craters range in size from (1 to 9) miles in diameter. Such frozen water can be mined to provide liquid water for moon bases that require drinking, planting and many other countless applications. Such a resource can increase the time humans will spend on Moon compared to the time astronauts currently spend on the International Space Station (ISS) which is about six months long before they return back to Earth. Basically, ISS is like a tin can with limited survival features, due to limited water, oxygen, no gravity and list goes on, astronauts can’t even take a shower or bath and even urine is recycled for later drinking as it cannot be wasted. However, water on the Moon will also be recycled but instead processed urine and other wastes like left over food can be used as a fertilizer for plants, plants that will provide us with oxygen and many other countless benefits. How these plants are going to be grown is a whole big topic itself. Sending water from Earth is way too costly, due to rocket fuel and rocket costs. Basically sending water from Earth to Moon or ISS is like sending rocket fuel itself.
Official NASA page for further details: NASA’s Radar Finds Ice Deposits at Moon's North Pole

Building the Space Elevator

Building the whole project will require work to be done on both ends at the same time, a small solar farm for recharging the construction robots on the Moon and if we attach the wire from Moon to Earth’s station in orbit then we can use the same solar farm on Moon’s base and on Earth’s station to further expand the structures. The whole wire can be constructed on Earth and sent by a single rocket to Earth’s orbit where it will be attached to the station and then the rocket will go leave for Moon also releasing the wire as it reaches Moon’s base to attach the wire to Moon’s base.

RACE TO THE MOON

China has confirmed its plans to send a spacecraft to land on the moon's "Dark side" before 2020, the dark side isn’t always dark but never visible on Earth. By dark side it is meant that it is unknown region or unexplored.
Japan's space agency would land an unmanned rover on the surface of the moon by 2018.
United States is also getting warmed up, as soon as SLS and Orion Space Capsule tests are completed, NASA however aims for Mars but Moon is obviously at the highest priority right now because of China and Japan getting too close on landing their unmanned rovers. NASA already has the power to send astronauts back on Moon but instead, trying to make the journey as safe as possible for its astronauts and resourceful as possible.
NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) will provide an exceptional lift capability of 130 metric tons (143 tons) to enable missions farther into our solar system. SLS the most powerful launch vehicle ever built, SLS will take humans and cargo on deep space missions, including an asteroid, Moon and Mars.
Distance from Earth to Moon: 238,855 miles (384,400 km)
Distance from Moon to Earth‘s orbit: 238755 miles (384240 km)

What's next?

Now that we are on the Moon that will reduces costs of space travel. A Solar farm on the Moon powering everything will boost all work done in space including water recycling , air, 3D printers or recharging construction robots. Moon mining and construction of bases on the Moon for permanent or at least longer living in space then we ever imagined. Some consider going to Mars as better option but when it comes to going to Mars, the biggest and most dangerous is the distance. Sun continuously blasting radiation that can kill and isolation problems will kill you before you get there. Moon on the other hand is near and we already send research materials, food etc. to ISS. Reason why this idea is better than building a space elevator from Earth to Earth’s orbit is because will don’t need such strong martial, we can however upgrade to a stronger martial over time. And as soon as we have the strongest Martial for building a space elevator that ends the need for rockets we will already have a working experience and a working system that can be upgraded with such Martial.

Possible Future

Now we can launch rockets from Moon for deep space travel, even go Mars as we will have more fuel and because we can build large space stations that we can launched from Moon’s orbit. As soon as we build one elevator, building the next isn't going to be difficult. Building the second elevator with experience from previous builds will make things easier and more advance. We can even send tons of frozen water all the way to Mars if there is any need for that. Basically, we can just push the ice water into the Mars atmosphere with little protection, it will melt as it descents. We also have tons of tons of liquid CO2 on Earth which we are already trying to get ride off by dumping in the ground, instead we can then just send all CO2 to Mars because it will increase the temperature and we can convert CO2 in Oxygen using plants and trees, it is considered waste on Earth but not on Mars so it's a win-win logic.

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