Colonizing Desert Worlds

[Golan2072]

Under the Hard Science and Space Opera world generation rules, about half of all worlds generated lack a hydrosphere. Apparently they also lack significant (surface?) ice which could be used by colonists as a source for water, oxygen and hydrogen (unlike Mars with it large amounts of surface and subsurface ice) - as airless worlds with ice on them do have a hydrographics rating in Traveller.

So how would colonies on such worlds produce the needed water, hydrogen and oxygen?

 

[rust]

So how would colonies on such worlds produce the needed water, hydrogen and oxygen?

With enough energy from fusion reactors it might be possible to get
both hydrogen and oxygen from minerals, and then get some of the
energy back by using fuel cells to produce water ?

 

[Golan2072]

So how would colonies on such worlds produce the needed water, hydrogen and oxygen?

With enough energy from fusion reactors it might be possible to get
both hydrogen and oxygen from minerals, and then get some of the
energy back by using fuel cells to produce water ?

That's more or less what I was thinking about - though I'd like to hear more about the minerals involved...

 

[rust]

That's more or less what I was thinking about - though I'd like to hear more about the minerals involved...

Oxygen should be no problem at all, as most silicates (the universe's most
common rocks) contain lots of it. Hydrogen could be more of a problem,
and right now I do only remember gypsum ... long time gone since I had
to do with chemistry ...

 

[simonh]

Oxygen should be no problem at all, as most silicates (the universe's most
common rocks) contain lots of it. Hydrogen could be more of a problem,
and right now I do only remember gypsum ... long time gone since I had
to do with chemistry ...

hydrocarbons appear to be pretty common too, the moons of Jupiter and Saturn don't seem short of them and the same goes for many asteroids.

Simon Hibbs

 

[EDG]

So how would colonies on such worlds produce the needed water, hydrogen and oxygen?

Most likely from other worlds elsewhere in the system, or from cometary bodies in the system.