[Q&A+] So, We Built a Moon Base. What's Next?

So, what's the difference between extracting these atomically large heavy metals that are very rare from seawater and a desalination plant that is extracting what I kind of understand to be maybe the same size or smaller sodium chloride molecules? And don't the desalination plants get clogged up with sediment and is that ostensibly you know chock full of gold and iridium and whatnot?

If there is more valuable real estate on the Moon, then China, or whomever gets there first, has the opportunity to grab it, notwithstanding old paper agreements among friends about who owns what on the Moon. As with the "New World", ownership is 9/10s of the "Law". ISRU will provide significant cost and time savings, catalyzing further access to more important resources. Militarily, there is no doubt that the Moon is the 'High Ground'; a 'mass driver' up there would be more potent than nukes...and it is a better location for observation and Intel gathering than increasingly vulnerable earth satellites. It isn't just "prestige".

Talk about mental masturbation. This guy is pretending to b a genius, but he is just flushing his mind down a toilet. Do something useful with your life!

How would we chat with aliens anyway? They probably won’t speak English.

In a perfect world, you would only be allowed to watch alternative history programs after passing a test that verified you have a thorough understanding of actual history. I foresee so many people who only know the fiction and never know the facts. Just my 2¢

Vulcan

"What do we ask aliens" was a fun question, but realistically I can't imagine how we will ever get the chance unless we discover a free (or nearly free) energy source for leaving and visiting planets. Space elevators might work, but the speed of light still traps us here. Depressing but unavoidable.