Building Bases on the Moon

How long will we stay on Earth? Will we ever move to the moon or Mars? As elusive as this sounds, there are benefits to building settlements on the moon. However, what will it take to build a settlement, and what are some of the challenges that we can expect along the way?

Benefits of Lunar Bases

Building a base on the moon can be beneficial to the space industry in many ways.

The moon is a great place to launch rockets due to its low gravity, giving it huge potential as a rocket launch site that can save resources and costs on space missions to Mars and beyond. 

The moon is also suitable for conducting research in space environments that differ from the Earth or ISS. The far side of the moon is also able to block electromagnetic emissions from the Earth and the Sun, making it a suitable location for radio astronomy. A low-frequency radio telescope could be built to study the early history of the universe, even before the first stars were formed (García, 2016). 

(European Space Agency, 2019)

The Process

What would it actually take to build a base on the moon?

A crucial technology for this is In-Situ Resource Utilization, or ISRU for short. ISRU is the utilization and processing of existing materials (on the Moon in this case) to create products (NASA, n.d.). It would be very expensive and impractical to send all crucial building materials like steel from Earth, so extracting materials from the Moon itself would be more reliable. 

Structures on the base would also need to be adapted to the unique lunar environment: low gravity, extreme temperatures, and sharp lunar regolith that could scratch and damage equipment.

Challenges

Construction in a completely different environment from Earth will come with lots of challenges.

One significant challenge is the difficulty in obtaining a stable power supply. Due to the moon’s 2-week cycle of light and darkness, solar power will not be readily available. Hence, innovations in effective power storage or alternative energy sources will need to be made (New Space Economy, n.d.).

The moon is also a very hazardous environment which would need lots of life support and protection technology to be habitable for humans. Besides the low gravity and lack of oxygen, the moon also has extremely high levels of radiation. This necessitates heavy radiation shielding in any base or vehicle that houses humans (Boyle, 2020). Furthermore, if any protection systems fail or break, the lives of the inhabitants would be at risk. Hence, any technology put in place needs to be extremely reliable and robust.

Conclusion

It is still unclear when a lunar base would be built, if at all. Despite concerns of cost and potential political ramifications, a lunar base would greatly improve our capacity to explore and study the solar system and deep space. 

Reference List

Boyle, R. (2020). Can a Moon Base Be Safe for Astronauts? [online] Scientific American. Available at: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/can-a-moon-base-be-safe-for-astronauts/ [Accessed 29 Sep. 2024].

European Space Agency (2019). Artist impression of a Moon Base concept. [online] www.esa.int. Available at: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2019/07/Artist_impression_of_a_Moon_Base_concept [Accessed 29 Sep. 2024].

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (n.d.). Overview: In-Situ Resource Utilization - NASA. [online] NASA. Available at: https://www.nasa.gov/overview-in-situ-resource-utilization/ [Accessed 29 Sep. 2024].

National Space Society (2017). Viral Architecture for Lunar Settlements. [online] NSS. Available at: https://nss.org/viral-architecture-for-lunar-settlements/ [Accessed 29 Sep. 2024].

National Space Society (2021). NSS Roadmap to Space Settlement Milestone 21: A True Lunar Settlement. [online] NSS. Available at: https://nss.org/space-settlement-roadmap-21-lunar-settlement/ [Accessed 29 Sep. 2024].

New Space Economy (2023). Overview of Challenges Related to Establishment of a Permanent Moon Base. [online] New Space Economy. Available at: https://newspaceeconomy.ca/2023/09/15/overview-of-challenges-related-to-establishment-of-a-permanent-moon-base/ [Accessed 29 Sep. 2024].