Quote:
Originally Posted by dcarson
Unless it is lost. The existing habitats can go on for a while on things that last a long time and spares but certain critical parts need industry and supply chains that don't exist anymore. So the populace as a whole might not know or refuses to believe but they need to rebuild that base desperately. Things like the main engines on the ships that mine comets and asteroids for replacement air and water because some does leak from a hab. You are fine for years but N thousand hours of thrust and they'll need replacement and you can't build them.
|
Theoretically space stations could have perfect recycling, but even then the main consumable resource is going to be propellent fuel for getting around. This setting doesn't seem like it'd have any kind of reactionless drives, so they'd need tons of rocket fuel to get anywhere.
SpaceX is using metholox because it can possibly be processed out of the atmosphere on Mars, but there seems to be only trace amounts of carbon on the Moon. Therefore, Earth and Mars would be the main sources, and possibly C-type asteroids, out in the Asteroid Belt, if they're accessible.