How do we colonize the moon?



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Welcome to our series on the colonization of the solar system! Today, we are looking at the closest of the celestial neighbors of the Earth. That's right, we're looking at the moon!

Chances are we have all heard about it more than once in our lives and we even have ideas about it. But for space agencies around the world, futurists and private aerospace companies, the idea of ​​colonizing the moon is not a question of "if", but of "when" and "how". For some, establishing a permanent human presence on the Moon is a matter of destiny, while for others, it is a question of survival.

It is therefore not surprising that human settlements projects predate Moon Landing and Space Race. In recent decades, many of these plans have been dusted off and updated thanks to plans for a new era of lunar exploration. So what would it take to establish a permanent human presence on the moon, when could this happen and are we ready for this challenge?

Even before proposals were made for lunar colonies, the idea of ​​a humanity living on the moon was widely explored in fiction, with examples dating back more than a century. In addition, at the beginning of the 20th century, there were many rumors that the Moon might already be inhabited by native forms of life (much like what was believed to be Mars).

Examples in fiction:

Between the 1940s and 1960s, science fiction author Robert A. Heinlein wrote extensively on early voyages and the eventual colonization of the Moon. These included a lot of news from the 1940s that describes what life in the colonies would look like on "Luna" (a name commonly used by Heinlein to describe a colonized Moon.

Cover of the 1st edition (1966). Credit: Wikipedia Commons / G. The sons of P. Putnam

In 1966, Heinlein published the award-winning novel Hugo Prize, The moon is a severe mistress, which tells the story of the descendants of a lunar penitentiary colony fighting for the independence of the Earth. This story has been widely applauded for the way it has associated political commentary with themes such as space exploration, sustainability, and artificial intelligence. It is also in this work that Heinlein coined the term "TANSTAAFL" – an acronym for "there is no such thing as a free meal".

In 1985, Heinlein published The cat walking through the walls, where much of the book unfolds on a Free Luna after winning his fight for independence and includes characters from some of his previous works.

Lunar colonization was also explored in fiction by the late Arthur C. Clarke. This included the new Light of the earth (1955), where a settlement on the Moon is caught in the middle of a war between the Earth and an alliance between Mars and Venus. This was followed by A fall of the moon moon (1961), which shows a lunar ship filled with tourists sinking into a sea of ​​Moondust.

Original cover of 1968. Credit: Wikipedia Commons / Hutchinson (UK) / New American Library (US)

In 1968, Clarke collaborated with director Stanley Kubrick to create the sci-fi film 2001: The Space Odyssey, where part of the plot takes place in an American lunar colony that is quarantined after the discovery of an object of extraterrestrial origin nearby. Clarke explained this in the original version published the same year. A lunar colony is also mentioned in Clarke's award-winning novel, Nebula and Hugo Award Appointment with Rama (1973).

The great science fiction city Ursula K. The Guin also mentions a lunar colony in her 1971 novel The tower of heaven, who won the Locus Prize for Best Novel in 1972 and has been filmed twice (1980 and 2002). In an alternative reality, lunar bases are established in 2002, then attacked by a hostile extraterrestrial species of Aldebaran (which in another reality is benign).

In 1973, the late and great Isaac Asimov published the novel The gods themselves, where the third section takes place in a lunar colony at the beginning of the 22nd century. Crazypeople (1988) by Kim Stanley Robinson (author of the book Red Mars trilogy, 2312 and Dawn) focuses on a group of miners enslaved and forced to work under the lunar surface to launch a rebellion.

The 2017 Artemis novel by Andy Weir. Credit: Amazon / Crown publishing

The 1995 Alastair Reynolds "Byrd Land Six" report mentions a lunar colony whose economy is centered on the extraction of helium-3. In 1998, Ben Bova released Moonrise and Moonwar, two novels centered on a lunar base established by an American society and which ends up rebelling against the Earth. These are part of his series "Grand Tour" which collectively deals with the colonization of the solar system.

In 2017, Andy Weir (author of The Martian) released Artemis, a novel located in a lunar city whose economy revolves around lunar tourism. Considerable attention is given to the details of daily life on the Moon, which include descriptions of a nuclear power plant, an aluminum smelter and a production facility. ;oxygen.

Proposals:

The oldest recorded example of humans living on the moon was created in the seventeenth century by Bishop John Wilkins. In his A talk about a new world and another planet (1638), he predicted that humans would one day learn to control flight and establish a lunar colony. However, the detailed and scientifically based proposals will not come until the 20th century.

In 1901, H.G. Wells wrote The first men on the moon, which tells the story of the indigenous lunar inhabitants (selenites) and includes elements of real science. In 1920, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (hailed by many as the "father of astronautics and rocketry") wrote the novel Out of the earth. This novel tells the story of the colonization of the solar system by humans and describes in detail life in space.

With the start of the space race in the 1950s, scientists, engineers and architects proposed a number of concepts and designs. In 1954, Arthur C. Clarke proposed the creation of a lunar base consisting of inflatable modules covered with lunar dust for insulation. Communications would be maintained with astronauts in the field using an inflatable radio mast.

Over time, we would build a larger permanent dome, based on an algae-based air purifier, a nuclear reactor and electromagnetic guns to launch cargo and fuel to ships in the area. 39; space. Clarke would explore this proposal further with his 1955 news Earthlight.

In 1959, the US military launched a study known Project Horizon, project to establish a Fort on the Moon by 1967. This plan provided for a first landing by two "soldier-astronauts" in 1965, followed by construction workers and a cargo delivered to the ship. iterative help from Saturn I rocket shortly after.

In 1959, John S. Rinehart – then director of the mining research lab at the Colorado School of Mines – suggested a lunar structure that could "[float] in an ocean of motionless dust. This was in keeping with the then-widely held theory that there were regolithic oceans that were 1.5 km (one mile) deep on the Moon.

This concept was described in Rinehart's study entitled "Basic Criteria for the Construction of the Moon" in Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, where he described a "floating base" consisting of a half-cylinder with half-domes at both ends and a micrometeoroid shield placed above.

A lunar base, as imagined by NASA in the 1970s. Credit: NASA

In 1961, the very same year that President Kennedy announced the Apollo program, the US Air Force issued a secret report based on a previous assessment of a lunar military base carried out by the US Army. . Known as the Lunex Project, the plan provided for a lunar landing for the crew that would eventually lead to an underground air force base on the moon in 1968.

In 1962, John DeNike (head of NASA's advanced programs) and Stanley Zahn (technical director of lunar dimensioning studies of the Space division of Martin) published a study entitled "Lunar Basement". Their concept provided for an underground base located at the edge of the sea of ​​tranquility, future landing site of the Apollo 11 mission.

As proposed by Clarke, this base would be based on nuclear reactors and an algae-based air filtration system. The base would consist of 30 housing modules divided into seven living areas, eight areas of operations and 15 logistics areas. the overall base would be 1,300 m², accommodating 21 crew members.

During the 1960s, NASA published numerous studies that advocated the creation of habitats inspired by the Apollo mission architecture (particularly the Saturn V rocket and its derivatives). These plans included the establishment of space station modules on the lunar surface and the use of existing designs and technologies to reduce costs and ensure reliability.

Building a lunar base could be easier if astronauts could retrieve local materials for building and sustaining life in general. Credit: NASA / Pat Rawlings

In 1963, during the 13th Proceedings of the symposium on lunar and planetary exploration, William Sims conducted a study entitled "Lunar Base Architecture". Its design provided for the creation of a habitat under the wall of an impact crater with a nearby landing field for spaceships. The habitat would have three floors with risingplevel providing a view of the surface through the windows.

These windows would also allow light to enter the habitat and would be insulated with water tanks for radiation protection. The electricity was to come from nuclear reactors, while sections of the habitat would be devoted to the creation of workspaces, workshops, laboratories, living spaces and a farm producing as much food as possible crew.

But the most influential design of the Apollo era was probably the "Lunar Base Synthesis Study," conducted in 1971 by North American aerospace company Rockwell. The study resulted in the conceptual design of a series of Moon Surface Bases (LSBs) from a related study for a lunar station in orbit.

In recent years, several space agencies have formulated proposals for building settlements on the Moon. In 2006, Japan announced its intention to create a base for the Moon by 2030. Russia presented a similar proposal in 2007, which would be built between 2027 and 2032. In 2007, Jim Burke, of the International University of space in France, proposed to create a lunar ark of Noah for human civilization to survive a cataclysmic event.

Artist's impression of a lunar base printed in 3D. Credit: ESA / Foster + Partners

In August 2014, NASA representatives met with industry leaders to examine cost-effective ways to build a lunar base in the polar regions by 2022. In 2015, NASA introduced a concept of lunar settlement based on robots (called Trans-Trainers) and heliostats to create a lunar settlement around the southern polar region of the Moon.

In 2016, Johann-Dietrich Wörner, president of ESA, proposed the creation of an international village on the Moon, which would take over from the international space station. The creation of this village would be based on the same inter-agency partnerships as the ISS, as well as partnerships between governments and private interests.

challenges:

It goes without saying that the creation of a lunar colony would constitute a massive commitment in terms of time, resources and energy. Although the development of reusable rockets and other measures reduce the costs of individual launches, sending payloads to the moon remains a very expensive undertaking, especially when many heavy launches are needed.

There is also the question of the many natural dangers that arise from living on a body like the moon. These include extreme temperatures, where the sun-exposed side reaches maximum temperatures of 117 ° C (242 ° F), while the dark side experiences minimum temperatures of -43 ° C (-46 ° F). Most of the lunar surface is also exposed to the impacts of meteoroids and micrometeoroids.

An artist impression of a lunar explosion – caused by the impact of a meteorite. Credit: NASA / Jennifer Harbaugh

The moon also has a tenuous, almost empty atmosphere. This is one of the reasons why the Moon goes through such extreme temperatures and for which impacts hit the surface (ie there is no atmosphere in which the meteors are immersed. ). It also means that any colony will have to be airtight, pressurized and isolated from the outside environment.

The absence of atmosphere (as well as magnetosphere) also means that the surface is exposed to a much larger radiation than the one we are used to here on Earth. This includes solar radiation, which worsens a lot during a solar event, as well as cosmic rays.

Possible methods:

Since the beginning of the space age, many proposals have been made to determine how and where a lunar colony could be built. The place is of particular importance because any regulation will have to provide some protection against the elements. As the saying goes, the three most important considerations in real estate are: "location, location and location".

For this reason, many proposals have been made over the years to build lunar habitats in locations that provide natural protection and / or containment. At present, the most popular of these is the South Pole Aitken Basin, a region of considerable impact around the southern polar region of the Moon, heavily cratered.

Moon elevation data showing the South Pole-Aitken Basin. Credit: NASA / GSFC / University of Arizona
Moon elevation data showing the South Pole-Aitken Basin. Credit: NASA / GSFC / University of Arizona

One of the main attractions of this region is the fact that it is permanently shaded, which means that it has much more stable temperatures. In addition, several missions confirmed the presence of ice-water in the region, which could be harvested to produce everything from hydrogen (or hydrazène) fuel and oxygen gas in the drinking water and irrigation.

Beyond that, any attempt to colonize the Moon will have to rely on technologies such as additive manufacturing (3D printing, for example), robots and telepresence. The base (s) should also be fabricated and powered as much as possible using local resources, a method known as in situ resource utilization (ISRU).

NASA and ESA have been exploring the concept for many years and have both developed their own methods for transforming the lunar regolith and other resources into usable materials. For example, since 2013, ESA has been working with the architecture firm Foster + Partners to design their international moon village.

The proposed method for constructing this base consists of placing inflatable frames on the surface, which would then be covered with a form of concrete based on lunar regolith, magnesium oxide and a binder salt. NASA has proposed a similar method that involves robotics workers using "sintered" regoliths on 3D printing bases. This consists in melting the regolith by bombarding it with microwaves and then printing it in the form of fused ceramics.

Other ideas involve creating habitats in the ground and creating a higher level giving access to the surface and letting in natural light. It is even proposed to build lunar colonies in stable lava tubes, which would not be the case.provide only vacuum protection from the space and impacts, but could be put under pressure with greater ease.

It has even been proposed to create a lunar solenoid base that would provide its own protection against radiation. This concept was presented by the civil engineer Marco Peroni at the forum and exhibition on space and astronautics of the IAAA 2017. It consists of transparent domes surrounded by a torus of high voltage cables. This torus would provide active magnetic shielding against radiation and allow homes to be built anywhere on the surface.

The abundance of ice around the polar regions will provide settlers with a constant source of water for drinking and irrigation, and could even be treated to produce fuel and breathable oxygen. A strict recycling regime will be needed to ensure that waste is minimized, and compost toilets will likely be used instead of flush toilets.

These compost toilets could be combined with the lunar regolith to create a growing soil, which could then be irrigated with locally harvested water. This would be essential given that lunar colonists would need to grow much of their own food to reduce the number of shipments that should be sent regularly from the Earth.

The lunar water could also be used as a source of energy if the colonies are equipped with electrolysis batteries (where the water molecules are divided into hydrogen and oxygen and that the hydrogen is burned). Other energy sources include solar panels, which could be built around craters and transport energy to settlements.

Space solar energy could also provide abundant energy to homes located throughout the lunar landscape. Nuclear reactors are another option, as are fusion reactors (tokamak). This last option is particularly interesting given the abundance of Helium-3 (a source of energy for fusion reactors) on the lunar surface.

Potential benefits:

To be fair, establishing a colony on any of the celestial bodies of our solar system has serious potential benefits. But having a colony on the celestial body closest to the Earth would be particularly beneficial. Not only could we conduct research, extract resources and take advantage of new technologies, but having a base on the Moon would facilitate missions and colonization efforts on other planets and moons.

Simply put, a colony on the moon could serve as a stepping stone to Mars, Venus, the asteroid belt and beyond. By having infrastructure on the surface of the moon and in orbit – which could refuel and repair spacecraft moving further into the solar system – we could save billions of dollars on the costs of missions in the world. # 39; deep space.

This is one of the reasons why NASA plans to establish a space station in orbit of the Moon – the lunar orbital platform gateway (LOP-G), also called. the lunar gateway, formerly called deep space gateway. This is also one of the reasons why ESA wishes to build its Moon Village with international partners. China and Russia are also considering their own outposts or orbital outposts for this very reason.

Lunar research would also be very lucrative. By studying the effects of gravity on the human body, astronauts will be better prepared to cope with the effects of long-term space travel, Mars missions, and other bodies in which low air consumption is important. a reality. These studies could also help pave the way for the establishment of colonies on these bodies.

The dark side of the moon also presents serious opportunities for all types of astronomy. As it faces the Earth, the far side of the Moon is free of radio interference, making it a prime location for radio telescopes. Since the moon has no atmosphere, optical telescope networks, such as the ESO's very large telescope in Chile, would also be free of interference.

And then you have interferometers – like LIGO and the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) that could search for gravitational waves and image black holes with greater efficiency. Geological studies could also be conducted to learn more about the Moon and the formation of the Earth-Moon system.

Artist's impression of Moon Base Alpha, a lunar outpost imagined by SpaceX and provided with the spacecraft (also called BFR). Credit: SpaceX

The abundance of resources on the moon, such as helium-3 and various precious and rare metals, could also enable an economy of export. This would be facilitated by the fact that the Moon's escape speed is well below that of the Earth: 2.38 km / s (1.5 km). MPs) compared to 11,186 km / s (6,95 MPs). This is due to the fact that the Moon has a fraction of Earth's gravity (0.1654 g), which means that launching payloads into the space would cost a lot less.

But of course, no lunar economy would be complete without lunar tourism. A colony on the surface, plus an infrastructure in orbit, would make regular visits to the moon both profitable and even profitable. It is not difficult to imagine that this could lead to the establishment of all kinds of leisure activities, ranging from hotel complexes to casinos, museums and expeditions.

With the right kind of commitment in terms of resources, money and work – not to mention some seriously adventurous souls! – there might be a Selenian day (or as Heinlein called them "Loonies").

We have written many articles on lunar colonization here at Universe Today. Here is Paul Spudis's plan for a sustainable and affordable lunar base, Why colonize the moon first ?, a stable lava tube could provide a potential human habitat on the moon and ESA planned to build an international village … on the Moon!

For more information, check out our four part series entitled "Building a Moon Base":

To get a glimpse of what life and work might be on the moon, check out What's Mining ?, and this is important! Students discover how to make beer on the moon.

Astronomy Cast also presents beautiful episodes on the subject. Here is the episode 115: The moon, third part: Return to the moon.

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