Why moon?
Today we will be looking at colonizing the moon, and not just small bases, but real colonies. My focus today will be on the colonization and industrialization of the moon with thousands or millions of people.
The moon has a bit of a strange position in the discussion of space travel, it remains the only place mankind has visited in person but has been nearly half a century since we have been there, and only a dozen people have set foot on it.
It's hard to picture the moon and its surface, it's a big place having an area larger than Asia, so those dozen astronauts only saw a very small portion of it.
What about the craters then?
We tend to envision the moon as a great desert pockmarked with craters, but people tend to forget that those craters range from the size of a pebble and large enough to swallow most nations and deep enough to bury mount Everest.
We've got dozens of craters that could hold major metropolitan areas or even entire nations and you could quite easily dome over an entire crater and these would be large enough to hold entire ecosystems. Given the low gravity of the moon building structures, this large would be a possibility.
One thing to keep in mind, however, is that all of those craters were formed by impacts. So building on the surface is always going to carry some inherent risk of damage, potentially catastrophic damage. The chances of a large impact wiping out your dome would be somewhere in the realm of getting struck by lightning on Earth however. So perhaps some kind of active defense system would be sufficient to maintain the integrity of the dome.
Wait, there's Lava too??
I also hear there are a lot of lava tubes on the moon, these tubes vary in depth across the surface and the low gravity allows them to get very large in diameter and in terms of distance can run for hundreds of kilometers/miles.
Building in the underground lava tubes would likely be the best first port of call. As the moon's day/night cycle is a month long and the light isn't filtered by an atmosphere so the surface is constantly bombarded by radiation or meteorites, therefore having a fair whack of ground between you and the harsh reality of space could keep you safer than building on the surface.
Plus it is likely you will have artificial lighting due to the day night cycle so you would not have to block out the two-week long sunlight in order to maintain a normal day to night earth-like ratio.
Transportation, Supplies, and Comms..
So in order to incentivize the movement of people and materials to the moon in a view of setting up a colony, we need to determine what the benefits the moon offers us. What is on the moon that earth lacks, what is on the moon that the rest of the solar system lacks.
Real time communication, the moon is close enough that we can send data in real time. Having this ability means we can cooperate with moon side experimentation and maintain a link in order to order supplies and so on. It only takes 2.6 seconds to send a message to the moon and back to the earth.
Being this close to earth means that if we needed to send any specialist materials or personnel it could be done fairly quickly. For example, a space going vehicle capable of 1G of acceleration constantly could make it to the moon in less than four hours. This is shorter than many flights on earth and certainly within the realm of possibility for a metallic hydrogen or fusion powered ship.
So, What else does the moon have?
Well, it lacks a significant atmosphere, but rather than a disadvantage this can actually be an advantage, the lack of a significant gravity well and zeroes atmospheric drag means it is very easy to ship materials from the moons surface back to earth, or out into the solar system.
So we could use the moon as a drop off point from asteroid based mining operations, pulling in highly desirable elements and minerals such as gold or platinum or even diamond from further out in the solar system and easing it down onto the moon ready to be shipped back to earth in order for consumption.
There is also the opportunity to mine the craters themselves on the moon, as they are created by those very same things we are thinking about mining, so we could easily trawl the surface or near surface for rare materials.
The moon also has a dark side, which will for a long period (2 weeks) is shielded from not only the sun but the earth as well, providing a perfect place to observe phenomena in our nearby neighborhood. No radio noise, no glare from reflection, and even more importantly no diffusion from an atmosphere.
We could also practice our terraforming, hazardous experimentation such as biological, nanotechnology, power generation. The moon being in close proximity to earth means if we require any additional information or materials and personnel for this experiments we could easily send them up there and try out all the things before we set out further across the solar system and move outside the safety net of the sphere of easy influence.
The moon has sources of water, which could easily be split with hydrolysis and turned into hydrogen and oxygen, large deposits of helium 3 which can be an excellent energy source in fusing reactors. The moon also has good amounts of potassium, uranium, aluminum, sulfur, magnesium and phosphorus all of which could be used for experimentation, power generation, or building.
The low gravity of the moon means you can build just like you do on the earth, a smelter on the moon will still work just like a smelter on earth, hot less dense substances still rise to the top, a distillery (we need that space booze) will also operate just the same. Not having an atmosphere means you don't have to worry about reinforcing structures to cope with those conditions, so building large on the moon is nowhere near as costly in terms of materials versus building on the earth.
Being that you have access to large amounts of raw and precious materials and the ability to easily move them from the moon back to the earth due to the low gravity and no atmosphere. The ability to create huge amounts of energy via fusing reactors or pulling in photons from the sun. You would be able to create a larger demand for personnel and offer a much higher rate of pay versus working earth-side.
This disparity in pay, opportunities to step out further into the solar system much easily compared to launching directly from earth, mining rights to rare materials and elements, engage in advanced science and cutting edge experimentation, ability to mass produce and ship back to earth plus the ability to build spaceships and much larger structures (for housing, science or manufacture) vastly cheaper and easier than on earth would all encourage people and organizations to take that leap out of the atmosphere and onto the moon and hopefully further out into the void.
I'd love to hear your thoughts any other things I might have missed in regards to the moon in the comments below.
Thank you for taking the time to read my simple words dearest readers, much love. <3
I agree a moon base is the logical next step although probably not on the scale you are talking about. Elon Musk recently talked about a moon base as a pre requisite for his planned trips to Mars:
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.wired.com/story/spacexs-mars-plans-hit-a-pothole-up-next-the-moon/amp
And as everything else he touches seems to turn to gold, let's hope this (and the mars trips) soon become reality!
That's the exciting thing about systems, they tend to scale up over time.
Thanks for the comment, much love. <3
Let's do it! :)
What if it's already been colonized. What if aliens are already there. What if it's hollow and people already occupy the inside?
Then we shall battle for glorious right to moon. <3
I've thought about that too. People tend to assume that it is empty.
I'mm totally team-hollow-moon, also... project clementine tho. 😱
You were faster haha!
Oh, kool, cheap labor!
I agree with all your points. I never understood the decision to terminate moon exploration and possible exploitation thru colonization/industrialization. There are so many possibilities that are more easily achievable on the moon than here on earth. To the moon and beyond! ;)
Maybe we are waiting for a more reusable rocketry? Kinda hoping once spacex gets it together we should be fine to restart exploration.
To the Mhooooooooooon!!!!
Considering we've lost half century's worth of practical experience by not trying to exploit outer space via a workable space station and/or moon station/colony I'm not sure if a fatal mistake hasn't been made
I don't think so, we can always improve.
Science and fantasy often merge in my mind...
I once read a novel where after a few generations the colony on the moon physically adapted to the difference in gravity and other environmental factors. They ended up with ESP and other cool abilities locked away in our genetics. Living on the moon - I couldn't handle the artificial light or the cold. But I could love it after terraforming. An oasis of plants under a dome and control the temperature. Anyway great read. <3
I've always had a wish to explore the stars, but after the moon visit it seemed to just not be an interest so much for humanity. In regards to the artificial light, we have developed some materials that can capture and slow down light, so perhaps we could have long tubes of varying lengths of this substance, capturing real light and releasing it slowly over time for an ambient light level created with 'real' photons from the sun. The cold shouldn't be too much of an issue, the only reason it's so cold is the lack of atmosphere, by building beneath the surface we would retain much heat.
Likely to the point some of it would need to be dumped into cooling towers.
Thanks for your kind words and support hope you have a peachy day <3
I think that living in a lava tube with real photons stored from the sun would be okay!
Hey, sounds interesting... do you recall the name of the novel? I'd like to check it out myself too if possible... :)
Hmm...the title does not come to mind right now. But it was teen fiction - sort of spun off the recent trend of twisted fairytales. Honestly quite a bit of that book puzzled me...and I didn't care for most of it. The best part I took away is the fragment above. Makes me want to write my own novel with moon beings and that premise of evolution though! Maybe Sam can be my scientific advisor for it <3
Haha... be sure to send me a link if you do. :)
Subjugation by James Galloway...and no, my memory isn't that good, just remembered reading something similar and it bugged me enough to Google moon colony telepathy
Enjoy ✌️
Cool! Thank you @cryptologyx! :)
~smiles~ yw
I hope we can grow lot's of peaches in the moon... lol!
Seriously the move to venture outside the earth is inevitable, the moon can be a terminal, a docking port area to transport us to other space destinations. I can have my Starbucks and Cinnabon there if I want, or an Sbarro pizza while I await for my connecting flight to Mars or wherever planet, moon or galaxy. Good read!
But what do we call the citizens of the moon? Mooners? Moonians? Lol!
This is a peach read! :)
Lords of the moon dancing peach appreciation society? seems pretty legit ti me.
Yeah I thought we would have already got there by now, I want me some of that moon cheese on my peach power pizza. haha
Thanks for the kind words and support. Much love. <3
Moonizens? :D
Possible. It would be awesome if indeed there are people/humans living on the moon in the near future. 😊
Totally! :)
Unit has voted and sends peach spirals. Much pinesol @sammosk.
Subroutine hug activated, enjoy peachy fresh pinesol janitor.
Great post once again that has got me thinking? I have thought a lot about how the moon could be colonised and used, though I'm not sure it provides the cost neutral investment to make it viable atm. I do believe that it will be the first stop for deep space exploration though.
Who will get there first and will a war wage over the rights to the moon? Only time will tell.
War will likely be a thing, unfortunate but true.
I'm thinking if there was some kind of orbital lifter to reduce the cost of launching, or a mass driver for raw materials for initial colony + laser driven spacecraft from a ground power source to lift the people cargo, this would cut down on the cost quite effectively.
Thanks for your support and comment, much love. <3
nice post seen your post on pal =D
Awesome! Thanks for reading and the comment. <3
Awesome! <3 Sammo, you're a great fiction story teller. However, Moon doesn't have atmosphere that human needs. But still, very lovely ! <3
No need for atmosphere, can contain it within the domed cities or add mass to the moon until it can sustain its own atmosphere (Would need quite a bit) personally I think the lava vents would be the best place to build a colony.
Why no atmosphere?
Because no gravity or water to create vapor.
Why no gravity that doesn't make sense?
The moon's gravity is 1/6 that of Earths, and there is no water to create a vapor barrier held by gravity to the surface. Hence, no atmosphere which is the gases and water vapor that make an "atmosphere" in the sense the word is being used here. Our atmosphere is all the oxygen,nitrogen, etc and water vapor being held to about a 60+ mile surface altitude above our planet - by gravity / rotational centrifugal forces. Very simple and not entirely complete explanation, but it is what the moon doesn't do.
Unbelievable. Are you a scientist? Very interesting info.
LOL no, but the moon is not exactly news...
There is no atmosphere in any part of space where humans have ventured. We've been bringing it with us for the better part of 70 years. Not sure why this seems like such a road block now.
Sure why not. We need a McDonald's up there. LOL
Giant freaking laser beams pls.
Love it, especially all the detailed thoughts you put in there :) It would definitely be a hell of an adventure to get on the moon. I just hope it´ll happen during our lifetime ;)
Absolutely an adventure, I've always been excited about exploring new frontiers. Would love to see a colony on the moon.
I´d love it as well. Let´s see how far we get within the next 10 years or so ;)
I really like your picture. Following you now.
Thanks!! <3
Wait... only a dozen people have set foot on it.
isn't it more like 3 or 4?
Exactly 12 people have been to the moon over the course of 6 missions.
I've got some catching up to do.
Most people are probably only aware of Apollo 11 and the ill fated Apollo 13, which of course never made it. However, the Apollo missions went on until '72. Those were a pretty productive 3 years of moon landings, which ironically probably made people think it was getting to be routine!
I probably knew this. I actually worked at NASA in Huntsville about a decade ago for a couple years, but I've forgotten more of my life than I care to remember for... reasons.
Thanks for the information! I should refresh on this sort of thing!
That encounter with those strange men dressed in black...don't you remember Corky?
There was a flash! And then blackness...
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Extraterrestrial colonies are like setting a barrel of gunpowder on fire. I want to see somebody do it, but I don't want to do it myself.
I'd be keen.
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I think setting up a colony on Mars is our end goal. It has far more crucial resources than the moon and there are already plans to terraform the planet into one very much like Earth. I think you would love the book "A Case For Mars" where all this is outline.
In saying that though, I think the Moon is a necessary stepping stone on our journey into the Solar System and beyond.
Great read @sammosk, I can always tell you put a lot of thought and effort into your posts. Keep it up.
I'm glad you enjoyed it harry, thanks for your support and excellent suggestion, I'll take a read of the link you shared when I'm needing another space fix haha. <3
How would the cost be justified? Sure living on the moon is a dream come true for all sci-fi fans. Say we successfully build a dome, only the super rich would afford it. Then in a couple of years we'll call ourselves lunarians and declare independence from Earth.
In my opinion yes, the cost would be quite justified, you could generate tons of energy up there, build superships and send them out into the void, ship raw materials back to earth, many interesting things.
Agreed. I'm sure Elon is already raising funding for this :-)
I wonder if the hug differences with the earth still makes it viable though. No atmosphere, lower gravity, completely different lengths of days and months, it'll take a lot of adjusting for people to get used to that. In all of those aspects Mars is a lot better fit, just much further away.
Anyway, great read. Definitely following you! I plan on writing a post about how and why we would eventually will set base on Mars (big SpaceX fan).
Being underground and with artificial lighting would remove the worries about the day length, however the low gravity might be an issue, perhaps wheel shaped colonies rotating to create artificial gravity? The lack of atmosphere actually works in the favor of the colonists as long as you maintain the integrity of the shelter.
I am really surprised we have not colonized the Moon already. According to the Sci-Fi writers of the Golden Age we should have had Moon bases by the 1980's...and don't get me started on flying cars! :-)
Never-the-less, there are a lot of advantages to colonizing the Moon. She could be our first step to exploring the rest of the solar system and eventually other stars. I would gladly forgo flying cars for that dream. :-)
Agreed, who gives a fig about flying cars, we need to diversify the human race into the cosmos before this earth turns into a toxic pit. Figuring out how to live sustainably might be a good idea before we go ahead and ruin other planets tho. Learning how to turn a completely inhospitable environment into one that we can prosper in would be a good step to learning how to reverse any damage we do to earth however.
Thanks for the support and comment, hope you have a great day. <3
You too @sammosk. Agreed on all points. We humans have a lot of growing up to do before we come of age into the wider Multi-verse. But...I believe we are on our way. :-)
Thanks for a really interesting scenario of what a moon base might look like, if the US government spent 2% of what they spend on the defence budget it could become a reality. I am too old to qualify as a colonist but if I was 30 years younger, I would jump at the opportunity. Hopefully I will see the first moves in this direction in my life time, I watch Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, a great moment,, and then of course there's Mars....
Yeah, I think better to start with something close before stepping out to mars, figure out how to live sustainably in the void and maintain an atmosphere long term before pushing over to mars.
Thank you for the support and kind words, much love. <3
I can see the moon as a convenient base for materials and supplies necessary for longer trips. Of course a crew would be needed but not sure if full colonization should be an immediate goal. Thank you and take care.
yes, very convenient indeed. I'm looking forward to humanity pushing out across the stars, has been a dream of mine for a long time.
Thanks for the kind words and support, much love. <3
Hey @sammosk, I really enjoyed the article. I think you're neglecting to mention the dangers that abound working with so little gravity and what it does to the Human Body. Mind that, if they created artificial gravity bases, this one wouldn't be much of a problem; however, there are other issues.
Overall, though, I love the idea of terraforming for the next step in Human Evolution. I see the Moon as an intermediary, a base that would not only provide the benefits that you mention but also stepping-stones for further manned exploration and inhabitation further out.
Other issues? What did I miss!!
Artificial gravity can be taken care of fairly simply with some rotating habitats. I figured the whole soul destroying radiation, lack of air, distance and cost of lifting up there was more worthy of attention.
Thanks for your kind words and support however, hope you have a great day. <3
I don't think it would be worth colonizing the moon. Humans have dealt with having a resource packed planet quite badly, to colonize a place where we basically have to engineer all the things we need for life, i don't think we could do it.
How unfortunate. Perhaps when scarcity and overpopulation force us off this beautiful blue marble and into the void.
Thanks for the comment! Hope you have a great day. <3
Well thought out my friend!
Have a peach! <3
Wow! Looks like you've really done some research work to come up with so much of interesting information! Bookmarking your page. :) A time will come when humans will start to seriously consider inhabiting the moon! Cheers! - @sandzat
Thanks for the bookmark and support @sandzat, I hope you have a peachy day and much happy times. <3
It took me about 4-5 hours to research and write up this post. Much reading and writing. :)
Thank you! You too! :)
It shows. And it's well put together too. :)
Aww, this is a good article on the possibilities that colonizing the moon contain. I personally would hate to see it happen until we learn better how to take care of our current planet, but it is interesting to think about...
Learning how to survive in hostile environments could help us after we destroy this one, figuring out how to reverse the damage humanity has done to precious mother earth. Thanks for the comment and support, hope you have a fantastic day. Much love. <3
<3
Cool!
You've done it again peach bomb 😊. You put the rest of us to shame - this is longer than any three of my posts, and probably more interesting besides. It deserves much voting up!
Have you read Luna - touches on some of your main themes here, but its got a corporate edge which is a bit annoying. It suggests re bone density that there would be a timeframe beyond which inhabitants of the moon would be unable to return to earth. It also suggests that those born on the moon would never be able to visit earth.. As a plot device it works, but there would obviously be technological solutions if that really was a thing... But who really knows what kind of adaptions would be made to people after life in space..
Brilliant post.
If you are on the dark side, yes!
Never. I'll never join the dark side.
Interesting Note! I need to figure out how to get out of my country first!
Lava on the moon.... What? Mind blown. Imagine living on the moon lol. Very interesting read.
It'd be pretty badass.
I've dreamed of space colonies since being very young. We need an economy 2x this size to sustain regular cargo deployments to the moon though. So very expensive per kg to lift.
Maybe by 2050 we will have this chance.
What about if we have an orbital lifter that was rotating and just scooped things from the ground into orbit.
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Brilliant thinking yet again, but why would you want to live on the baron moon when we have places like the vast Siberia to colonate first?
Rare miners and elements, stepping stone into the rest of the solar system, getting off earth in case of mass extinction event, to do risky science, mass produce cheaply, many reasons.
Thanks for your support and kind words, have a nice day!! <3
So to extort another place?
If that's all you got I don't think you were reading the article fully. :(
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thank you for the post, however if we spent more time and money sorting out the plankton balance problem in the sea we could rebalance our food chain, help save earth. If we spent the money allocated to space on cancer research we could save countless lives.
On saying that, I like the thoughts of making more money on the moon! enjoyed the read and the bit of humor. Keep it up
I wonder if you will think the same when an asteroid of the same size that ended the dinosaurs faceplants into the earth or we start a nuclear winter that lasts a few generations.
Much more has been spent on waging war and figuring out more effective ways of murdering one another vs exploration of space, and if we learn how to bio-form the existing lifeforms or terraform hostile environments we could learn how to potentially reverse catastrophic damage to the earth (if either of the above scenarios happen).
Money is also not 'real' if you think about it, the effort and time certainly is, but the actual fiat current dollar value is 100% fake. And is just a lure to get you taking that first step out into the void.
To the Moon!! Thank you for your interesting comment, support, and kind words. Much love and hope you have a productive day. <3
You hit the nail on the head 'Much more has been spent on waging war and figuring out more effective ways of murdering one another vs exploration of space'
Much love paulag. <3
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This was a fascinating article! I had never really thought about the moon's potential before. I have to say when I read this:
"We could also practice our terraforming, hazardous experimentation such as biological, nanotechnology, power generation."
My first reaction was "Oh yes! Now we don't have to risk nanobots devouring the population when they become sentient." But my second thought was, "What happens if nanobots become sentient and devour the moon?!"
All hail the bot in the moon? :)
If a nanite swarm becomes sentient whip out the magnets? haha
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for the support and kind words. Much love. <3
Ok, I'm remembering "magnets."
And when I narrowly avoid the nanite apocalypse with that one cool tip, my descendants will sing the praises of the Great @sammosk who saved us ;)
Never cease to surprise me with your thoughts! There would be a lot of obstacles and issues that need to be remedied with colonizing on the moon. While skaters may love the massive half pipes by natural craters, nobody wants to get burned via lava tubes. I feel like you've thought of it all. the contemplation of pro vs. con. As for space booze: Peach moonshine ;)
Oh the lava tubes are cooled already, they are pretty much like massive tunnels that run under the surface.
Skaters would likely have much more fun in those than running the risks of the surface, but imagine how high you could go in the low gravity!
Space peach cider does sound rather nommy tho.
Thanks for the comment and kind words, hope you have a great day nurse. Much love. <3
I am going to the dark side of the moon with the Chinese.
Or pink floyd. <3
Very nicely done, well thought out and concise. You keep getting better and better my friend : )
Interesting concept yes. I think space exploration is going to happen but not yet, although maybe for some. Will it be the right decision only time will tell.
I think an equally interesting concept is under the sea. But the moon we can’t even create freedom on our planet so imagine the logistics. Then again maybe it will be the first anarchical society in that case sign me up :)
Under the sea could be a good starting point for a hostile environment indeed.
Maybe set up near one of those hydro thermal vents for some tasty energy.
Thanks for the support and comment, hope you have a great day.
Much love. <3
Now I think your on to something there! Would be quite cool i’d happily live there.
Great to connect :)
Congratulations Human. This post has been chosen to feature in today's Muxxybot curation post....*....The moon is off limits, besides...we really should figure out a way to clean up the mess in our own orbit before we go gallivanting off in all directions...don'tcha think? ;)
@sammosk - I wish this doesn happen, aside to all the amazing positives and feasibility human can ruin everything bro.... everything, let the moon be unaffected with this atleast
Suggested Read:
Lumbini Nepal Travel Blog – To The Land of Buddha!!!
With 3d printing this is definitely possible.
Magnifica foto 😍 @maite
This is the sensible approach to space exploration. I´ve always been dazzled by the fact that these is ignored by those in the space business.
There is water in the moon?
By spectrography it is likely we know which minerals and elements are present in the moon. But do we also know the location of these?
I heard something about the moon being hollow. Does this have any trace of truth?
Great post, both the subject and the writing.
Yes there is indeed water on the moon. As to sampling we only did a small amount of sampling, but with laser spectrography I'm sure we could vape a small portion of the surface and do some surface testing.
The moon is partially hollow due to the lava tubes and so on, but as for actually hollow like a shell, doubtful.
Technically everything is hollow. Atoms are mostly empty space. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment. Much love.<3