Placing a colony on a natural celestial body would provide an ample source of material for construction and radiation shielding at the colony and in free space. The energy required to send objects from the Moon to space is much less than from Earth to space. This could allow the Moon to serve as a construction site for spacecraft.
Full Answer
Why do we want to settle on the Moon?
For a first permanent human space colony or settlement the choice of the Moon would benefit from its proximity to Earth. One proposed purpose of a Moon settlement is tourism on the Moon in the near future by private space companies.
Should we colonize the Moon?
Colonizing a natural body would provide an ample source of material for construction and other uses in space, including shielding from cosmic radiation. The energy required to send objects from the Moon to space is much less than from Earth to space. This could allow the Moon to serve as a source of construction materials within cis-lunar space.
Is it legal to lay claim to the Moon?
Laying claim to the Moon has been declared illegal through international space law and no state has made such claims, despite having a range of probes and artificial remains on the Moon.
How many chapters are in the lunar settlements Symposium?
A collection of papers derived from the Rutgers Symposium on Lunar Settlements held in June 2007. The large volume of content includes 45 chapters and many more abstracts. 2007: The Moon: Resources, Future Development, and Settlement, Second Edition.
Why is a lunar base important?
A Lunar base would provide an excellent site for any kind of observatory.[2] Particular advantages arise from building observatory facilities on the Moon from Lunar materials. As the Moon's rotation is so slow, visible light observatories could perform observations for days at a time.
How to create a thriving civilization?
In order to create a thriving civilization, one must gain the support of the general public to pay for expense for importing materials and equipment and designing exact industrial processes which would be suited to the lunar environment.
Who proposed the spur settlement of the moon?
A radically different approach to spur settlement of the moon is proposed by Berok Khoshnevis, a professor of industrial and systems engineering at the University of Southern California’s Viterbi School of Engineering.
What is the key ingredient to building structures on the moon?
Furthermore, a key ingredient to building structures on the moon is making use of local materials. That’s known as “in-situ resource utilization” – or in NASA lingo, ISRU for short.
What is the purpose of a moon settlement?
One proposed purpose of a Moon settlement is tourism on the Moon in the near future by private space companies . Discovery of water in the soil at the lunar poles by Chandrayaan-1 ( ISRO) in 2008–09 renewed interest in the Moon, after NASA missions in the 1990s suggested the presence of lunar ice.
What is the moon colonization?
Colonization of the Moon is a concept employed by some proposals of establishing permanent human settlement or robotic presence on the Moon, the closest astronomical body to Earth, and the Earth's only natural satellite.
Why do lunar equatorial regions have higher concentrations of helium?
The lunar equatorial regions are likely to have higher concentrations of helium-3 (rare on Earth but much sought after for use in nuclear fusion research) because the solar wind has a higher angle of incidence. They also enjoy an advantage in extra-Lunar traffic: The rotation advantage for launching material is slight due to the Moon's slow rotation, but the corresponding orbit coincides with the ecliptic, nearly coincides with the lunar orbit around Earth, and nearly coincides with the equatorial plane of Earth.
Why are the north and south poles of the Moon important?
First, there is evidence for the presence of water in some continuously shaded areas near the poles. Second, the Moon' s axis of rotation is sufficiently close to being perpendicular to the ecliptic plane that the radius of the Moon's polar circles is less than 50 km. Power collection stations could therefore be plausibly located so that at least one is exposed to sunlight at all times, thus making it possible to power polar colonies almost exclusively with solar energy. Solar power would be unavailable only during a lunar eclipse, but these events are relatively brief and absolutely predictable. Any such colony would therefore require a reserve energy supply that could temporarily sustain a colony during lunar eclipses or in the event of any incident or malfunction affecting solar power collection. Hydrogen fuel cells would be ideal for this purpose, since the hydrogen needed could be sourced locally using the Moon's polar water and surplus solar power. Moreover, due to the Moon's uneven surface some sites have nearly continuous sunlight. For example, Malapert mountain, located near the Shackleton crater at the lunar south pole, offers several advantages as a site:
What was the first landing on the moon?
Apollo 16 made the first landing within the rugged lunar highlands. Interest in further exploration of the Moon was beginning to wane among the American public. In 1972, Apollo 17 was the final Apollo lunar mission, and further planned missions were scrapped at the directive of President Nixon.
Why is the far side of the Moon a good location for a telescope?
The far side is also a good location for a large radio telescope because it is well shielded from the Earth . Due to the lack of atmosphere, the location is also suitable for an array of optical telescopes, similar to the Very Large Telescope in Chile.
How close is the Moon to Earth?
While some Earth-crosser asteroids occasionally pass closer, the Moon's distance is consistently within a small range close to 384,400 km. This proximity has several advantages:
