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Re: Lagrangian Points
E.P. Grondine wrote:
> Several years ago I attended a lecture by the
> former science attache at the Russian embassy,
> Lev Mukhin. His specialty is planetary outgassing,
> and if I remember correctly he predicted that the
> Earth would loose its atmoshpere to space some
> billions of years down the road. (I guess you
> can put this one of the stack on planetary hazards, someplace way
> down the line from the impact hazard and gamma ray bursts!)
Outgassing of hydrogen is a very slow and gradual process. It doesn't
happen in bursts. Earth life will evolve to the new atmosphere, just as
it always has.
> Anyhow, I was wondering if it might be possible
> that this planetary outgassing is the source for
> Frank's "small comets". The water outgasses (under the influence of
> the solar wind), then condenses out, say at the L-5 point (maybe
> around some existing debris), and the resulting accretion then falls
> back to Earth. Since the Earth is rotating, and the atmosphere is
> dense, the accretion detonates on entry.
> Any thoughts?
First of all, the 'small comet' theory is being eaten away at by other
researchers, it is beginning to look doubtful. Second, the atmosphere
does not outgass in bubbles, it leaks out very slowly.
And finally, we concluded that biological hazard is not a legitimate
reason to oppose manned space flight, just that some quarantine might be
in order. I don't believe there is any threat, but NASA is a government
agency that serves the People. Therefore, some measures must be taken,
regardless of the very small likelihood of back-contamination.
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