This seems like a ridiculous statement, but it may become something that people will consider in the not so far future. Average people, like you and me, may be able to live on the moon within the next century. Scientists, architectures, philosophers and dreamers have been working to make this seemingly impossible idea into something real. With privately funded spaceships at Virgin Galactic offering rides to space for any average person that can afford the ticket price, space travel is becoming something that is no longer reserved for science fiction novels.
Why can’t we just move to the moon now?
At present, the moon is nothing but barren space with not much to offer. It has no air, no water, no atmosphere and no food which are basic essentials that humans need to survive. If we were to just move there now, we would not only starve but the sun’s radiation would be deadly due to the lack of atmosphere. We need protection from other forces too. According to Bill Cook from the Marshall Space Flight Center’s Meteoroid Environment Office at NASA, more than 1,000 kg of space debris hit the moon everyday. We would need some serious protection.
In order to survive on the moon, we would need to engineer an environment for ourselves and humans are not lacking these skills. Breathable air could be extracted from the moon’s soil using heat and electricity. Water can be obtained from mining a potential source at the moon’s south pole. Or, liquid hydrogen that’s shipped from Earth can be combined with oxygen and made into water on the moon. Protective barriers can be constructed to simulate an atmosphere and, lastly, resources such as soil and fertilizer can be shipped from Earth in order to grow food. These ideas still need to be tested in order to determine whether they are possible options.
Why would I want to move to the moon?
You may want to move to the moon for mining, scientific research, and ample space. Asteroids are a rich resource for platinum and gold and it would be more cost-effective to target and mine them from the moon versus the earth. Planetary Resources, an asteroid mining company, is continuously conducting research to further understanding about human space exploration. Their mission is to gain a permanent human presence in space in order to get closer to the extra-planetary resources that they plan on exploiting.
If NASA astronauts could have a permanent research station on the moon, they would be able to cut costs enormously. The average cost of launching a space shuttle to the moon is around $450 million. If scientists are living in space full-time, there is no limit to the incredible discoveries they will make.
The climate on our planet is changing and the human population is continuously growing. There is a limit to how many human beings our planet can sustain and looking for alternative places to inhabit is important. Moving to the moon offers the possibility of exploration, resource extraction, and a new life. But would you miss watching the moon rise at night as the sun sets? Or would an “Earth-rise” be even better?
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