Good source for NASA equipment?

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by PTTG

they're trying to prove they aren't undergoing some kind of oxygen deprivation, so of course they'd look at the scrubbers, and seeing that they're not only functioning, but apparently refreshed, would probably be impressive.

OK, that works if we presume the LiOH cartridges in the scrubbers had indicator dyes, which seems plausible. Of course, you need to photograph them just to have proof what you were seeing wasn't hallucinatory.

[SRoach]

Originally Posted by PTTG

Crap, good point. I could tape over it by saying that they hacked one or two of the LM scrubbers out so they had some physical proof.... but then they need to think to check them. Ah, but of course they would -- they're trying to prove they aren't undergoing some kind of oxygen deprivation, so of course they'd look at the scrubbers, and seeing that they're not only functioning, but apparently refreshed, would probably be impressive.

Couldn't that also imply that the chemistry on the moon was enough different that the scrubbers just weren't working at all? So, not absorbing CO2?

Another direction you could take would be to have aired up caverns on the moon. Life zones. Maybe nothing in them but some glowing moss on the walls, but that makes it easier to settle, and still keeps your astronauts in a small, easily managed, space.

[PTTG]

Originally Posted by SRoach

Couldn't that also imply that the chemistry on the moon was enough different that the scrubbers just weren't working at all? So, not absorbing CO2?

Another direction you could take would be to have aired up caverns on the moon. Life zones. Maybe nothing in them but some glowing moss on the walls, but that makes it easier to settle, and still keeps your astronauts in a small, easily managed, space.

Actually, the moon magic is the goal. And the scrubbers were clearly working, as hallucinations or no, the astronauts would have died long before they returned to earth if the CO2 wasn't absorbed. At the time, nobody was sure where the CO2 ended up.

[SRoach]

Originally Posted by PTTG

Actually, the moon magic is the goal. And the scrubbers were clearly working, as hallucinations or no, the astronauts would have died long before they returned to earth if the CO2 wasn't absorbed. At the time, nobody was sure where the CO2 ended up.

Okay. Clearly the CO2 had to go. Still, a "green moon" might make setting up a base there easier. You wouldn't have to haul as much life support if you happened on lava tubes that mysteriously had breathable air and liquid water in them.

[PTTG]

In time, the use of magic will be available. Seeing as the first magical working was a CO2 removal, NASA set to work regularizing the process. It turned out that a full communion ceremony wasn't needed, although the exact methods are top secret. Students and faculty refresh the filters daily.

I've decided that magery is limited to 3, and uniform. If you have magery, it's 3. However, all mages have at least a few points of Energy Reserve, and a combination of talent and practice can increase ER.

Any idea about the cultural touchstones I should mention? There's been 16 years of divergence, albeit a pretty big divergence. Star Wars, for one thing, could be read as hard sci-fi!