China's Moon mission sees first seeds sprout

Re:China's Moon mission sees first seeds sprout by adrianN on Tuesday January 15, 2019 @07:07AM (#18910592)

I think you underestimate how complicated even simple machines are. Making lubricated ball bearings for example requires high quality steel, precision manufacturing and chemistry that is not trivial if you don't have access to oil.

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Re:China's Moon mission sees first seeds sprout by hamilyon2 on Tuesday January 15, 2019 @09:07AM (#18911164)

Yes, that is how we do it now. But what if you only need 3000 ball bearings a month, would other process be more feasible, since the fact it is not economical at scale can be ignored?

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Re:China's Moon mission sees first seeds sprout by adrianN on Tuesday January 15, 2019 @09:26AM (#18911271)

You still need high quality source materials and low mechanical tolerances even if you make them by hand. You obviously don't want to recreate planet-spanning supply lines, but even getting good steel from ore is highly nontrivial.

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