Humans Living On The Moon

Humans Living on the Moon: Challenges and Benefits "Life, for ever dying to be born afresh, for ever young and eager, will presently stand upon this earth as upon a footstool, and stretch out its realm amidst the stars." – Herbert George Wells

Done by: Marcus Sanatan

Challenges faced while trying to colonize the Moon: • Spaceships would need to accommodate more astronauts and a large store of supplies. Building a spaceship is no ordinary task so, to increase the current models’ capacity and to ensure that the spaceships move in a timely manner despite the extra weight is a large hurdle we must jump over. •

We must have equipment to protect us from the extreme temperatures on the Moon’s surface. As the Moon’s atmosphere is so insignificant, heat from the sun causes temperatures to reach an average of 101°C. The Moon orbits the earth in about 29.5 days therefore; the Sun’s light hits the Moon for about two weeks (half a “moon day”) and would not be seen for the other two weeks. Thus, the extreme heat present would last two weeks. Also, the other two weeks, temperatures reach an average of -184°C.

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Equipment must be developed to protect us from large radiation outbursts by the Sun or from distant astronomical events like supernovae or black holes (yes, black holes can release radiation as well).

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Regolith found on the Moon’s surface layer may appear harmless but these particles can be a serious impediment to colonizing the Moon. Aside from being dangerous to our respiratory, nervous and cardiovascular systems, regolith can damage space equipment because at night they are charged with electrons but when the sun light hits the dust, they release those electrons. Therefore, equipment must be made to withstand these effects.

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It was observed from videos of previous missions where man set foot on the Moon that the spacesuits were very heavy at the top causing astronauts to topple over and they restricted a lot of the astronauts’ movements. For colonization purposes, spacesuits need to allow for more free movement of the human body and cannot be as heavy as they were before. Remember that a spacesuit is a basically a mobile life support system so engineering these are no easy task.

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Up to this date, there are no known substances or organisms on the Moon that can help sustain human life. Therefore, everything needed to keep humans alive on the moon must be imported from Earth. This is extremely costly. So, it is up to engineers to design systems that replenish food, oxygen, water, etc.

Benefits of colonizing the Moon: • As the Moon receives solar energy at levels much higher than Earth and for a longer duration, there is a possibility of setting up solar power plants to receive large quantities of energy. This energy can be used to maintain all man-made systems on the Moon as well as provide Earth with more energy from its surpluses. • Pursuing this challenge of living on the moon forces technological innovation because of our natural incapability to live there. As we advance our technology to accomplish this mission, we push the boundaries of human knowledge and allow for our material standards of living to increase. • As land on the Earth is limited, the Moon can be used by many as their new home. As the human population is ever growing, more land is always a positive. •

Colonizing the Moon will further expand the economies of the world’s thriving nations. Space tourism would expand rapidly, rewarding those entrepreneurs who invested heavily into this field. Also, as many asteroids and comets collided with the Moon’s surface, mankind may find platinum, gold, silver or other precious chemical elements. This may lead to a mechanized mining industry on the Moon.

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The Moon is in synchronous rotation i.e. it takes as long to rotate about its axis as it takes to orbit the Earth. The result is that humans for the most part see one side of the Moon while observing it from our surface. If we were able to go to the “far side” of the Moon, scientist would be able to observe a large majority of our solar system closer than before.

• It will be the stepping stone for mankind as we will eventually colonize other celestial bodies. It also aids in fulfilling mankind’s dream of conquering space.

Sources: • National Aeronautics and Space Administration • National Geographic “Naked Science” (TV) • Lint rollers may collect dangerous Moon dust – Kelly Young • The Lunar atmosphere: History, status, current problems, and context – S. Alan Stern