The Moon-Mars Homestead Project

Demonstrating Technologies Needed for Permanent Habitation

The Original Announcement
Join the Homestead Team (not yet activated)

 

Since the announcement of this Moon Society - Mars Society collaboration project on August 25, 2004, it has become clear that our project game plan must change.

The founders of the Mars Homestead Project are intent on demonstrating a doable Martian settlement based on existing technologies that could be supported by local resources on Mars. This is a valid approach, especially if "timely demonstration" is the primary goal. Accordingly, the project founders have put together a close knit team, to which we do not have ready entry. Our members are welcome, of course, to join the general discussion list, but, as with most such lists, the email traffic tends to consist of more noise than signal along with a significant volume of off-topic debate. Participation at this level, is not the best use of our time and effort.

We need to work autonomously, keeping our friends in the Mars Society informed of any significant progress.

Crude demonstrations now vs. improved demonstrations later

While there are existing technologies that might be translated to lunar application, using lunar resources, they are perhaps not the best, the most promising ones. Significant research done to date, notably under the sponsorship of Space Studies Institute, has identified several more appropriate technologies that are still in need of development. Glass-glass composites, demonstrated in the lab with "an ice-cube sized" sample, is just one instance.

Accordingly, our plan will be to supplement any lunar-adaptable off-the-shelf technologies identified by the Mars Homestead project with any especially lunar appropriate technologies that seem conceptually sound but are in need of real development.

Phase I will be an effort to identify and list as many of those technologies as possible. We will be asking lunar outpost experts inside and outside NASA for help in compiling this list along with any references to relevant paper studies along with any laboratory-scale demonstrations that may have already been undertaken.

Phase II will be an effort to encourage entrepreneurial brainstorming of each of these technologies for any potentially profitable terrestrial applications and follow-up development of business plans to do the needed research & development based entirely on the prospects of earning profit here and now from those terrestrial applications.

The payoff

Any technologies pre-developed in this manner will add to our technology base for timely expansion of original lunar outposts into real resource-using settlements.

And, of course, early demonstrations of such technologies could be showcased in Project Leto.

Any progress we make will be shared with the Mars Society.

Contact Person: Peter Kokh

Mail Address:

The Moon Society
Program Services: Spin-up Technologies
PO Box 080395
Milwaukee, WI 53208