[Student Contest Winning Paper]
Can a Permanent and Economical Human Base
be Built on the Moon?
Mumbai (Bombay), India
First Place Tie Winning Entry in the Moon
Mission Design Contest
Sponsored by TPSY:
The Planetary Society of Youth, INDIA
Cosponsored by The Moon
Society Chapters Coordinator's office
Foreword: Every time we look at the Moon in the night sky it seems to be pouring white light on us and tempts us to reach it. It was a mysterious rock before the Apollo program. Astronauts have indeed left their footprints on the Lunar dust, the first being the Apollo 11 Mission on July 20, 1969 with crew members Neil Armstrong, and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr, (Michael Collins, Apollo Module Pilot remained in orbit.) And the last mission being Apollo 17 in December 1972 &endash; the 6th U.S mission to do so. Just as he stepped off the Lunar Module Neil Armstrong proclaimed, "That's one small step for man one giant leap for mankind". He then said it from his heart and hence predicted the future of space exploration. Today, not only America and Russia, but several other countries like Canada, India, Europe, China and Japan have the capacity to participate in space science exploration and mission programs.
Galileo was the First to focus his telescope on the details of the Moon's Surface in 1609. He recognized mountains and large, flat, dark areas, which he called maria, the Latin word for "Seas". But still people were eager to learn more about Luna (Moon) which has fascinated mankind throughout the ages. Scientists too had unanswered questions, before Astronauts reached the Moon. The Apollo Astronauts brought back 380 Kilo of Moon rocks, along with other crucial, not previously known information. Further scientific study of these rocks answered some of these questions to give us our current understanding of the Moon's past and present.
Formation of the Moon: Before the Apollo Missions, Scientists had three different theories about the formation of the Moon. Each posed further questions, however.
- The Moon had been a wandering planet that was captured by the Earth, But how could a small planet like Earth capture such a big Moon?
- The Earth and the Moon had form from the same rotating cloud of rocks and dusts. But if so, why didn't the Moon have a big, heavy core like Earth?
- A chunk of the Earth split off and formed the Moon. But, if Earth was once spinning fast enough to lose a piece of itself then it should still be spinning much faster than it is today.
Questions raised by each of these theories remain unanswered.
- The fourth idea: The giant impact Hypothesis, according to which an object as big as Mars struck the Earth, destroying itself and blasting off a huge amount of materials into space. Some amount of this material remained in the Earth's orbit and clumped together, to form the Moon. This idea made sense after the Apollo mission. As big impacts were common in the violent past. A giant impact might have released enough heat to create the Moon's Core of Magma also giving the Earth a tilt and Spin. The heavy core of the Mars-like object might have become part of Earth's, which clearly explained why the Moon's core seems small and light as compared to Earth's
Description of the Moon (Luna): The Earth's only natural satellite, the Moon has a diameter (3,476 kilometers) more than a quarter the size of Earth's. The Moon is 384,403 Kilometer distant from Earth surface. Its gravity is one sixth that of Earth's because of its smaller size, as we have seen demonstrated by the giant leaps of the Apollo Astronauts.
The Moon's top layer of crust and mantle is rock solid, about 800 kilometers thick, beneath which is a partially molten zone. Covering the Moon's crust is a dusty outer layer of rock called regolith. Both the crust and regolith are unevenly distributed over the Moon's Surface. The crust ranges from 38 miles on the near side to 63 miles on the farside. The regolith varies from 10 to 16 feet on the Highlands. There are many surface features such as craters, mountains ranges, rilles and lava plains. There are two basic types of terrain on the Moon's surface &endash; the Maria and the Highlands.
The Moon does not possess any atmosphere, hence no wind and weather as on Earth. The temperatures on the Moon range from 100 degree Celsius at noon (when the sun is directly overhead) to 173 degree Celsius at night. The Moon outgases radon, a product of radioactive decay of elements in the crust, and possibly other gases, which may originate deeper within the Moon's interior. This outgassing may be one of the reasons for the sudden temporary glows, darkening and changes of color of the normally unchanging Moon.
The Moon does not produce its own light but instead reflects light from the sun hence looks bright. The rotation and revolution of the Moon both, around the Earth takes 27 days, 7 hours, and 43 minutes. As the angle of the sun is changing through this period, the length of the day/night cycle is about two Earth days longer. The lunar phase changes as the Moon orbits the Earth resulting in illumination of its different position relative to the sun as seen from Earth. The Earth's gravity has locked one Lunar hemisphere permanently towards itself. The Lunar sky is always black because there is no diffraction of light.
Some unanswered questions about the Moon:
- 1. Do albedo Swirls have magnetic origins?
- 2. Do the permanently shadowed areas on the Moon (Lunar Poles) harbor quantities of water ice and contain microscopic organisms that can live in extremely hostile conditions?
- 3. Does the Moon have reservoirs of trapped underground gases?
- 4. Can the Moon obtain magnetism from impacts by comets and asteroids
Purposes for future Moon Missions:
- 1. To conduct various scientific experiments and to study the Moon in greater depth.
- 2. To explore permanently shadowed regions at the lunar poles
- 3. To determine the bulk elements composition of the Moon as well as to identify potential Lunar resources, including water ice
- 4. To determine if life could evolve on the Moon given some basic conditions
- 5. To explore particularly a crater in the Moon's South Pole-Aitken Basin which may contain some of the oldest, if not the oldest, exposed material in the Solar System
- 6.To establish a large scale permanent human base supported by local resources on the Moon, which will be economically viable (feasible, possible and practical) and could even serve as a stepping stone for sending Astronauts to Mars and other planets of the Solar System
- 7. To find, and tap minerals (Lunar Resources) which could serve as a new and immense source of energy for Earth's growing power needs.
- 8. establish global human settlement and perhaps terraform the Moon (make it conducive to life forms)
Research Question: Can a Permanent and Economical Human Base be Built on the Moon?
Facts that are already known or hypothesis about the science related to my purpose/research question:
The Moon base constructed at the beginning could not be a large city or village with buildings. At first it will be only small enough to support team or certain specialized space scientists and engineers, about 500 to 1000 in number. Later on, once we are making use of local resources to defray costs of Earth import, will we begin expanding the Moon base area.
The reason why my purpose is interesting and or important: Among many other purpose this purpose of settling up a permanent human base on the Moon is interesting and/or important for the following reasons:
- 1. Our return to the Moon and establishment of a presence there will provide the fullest possible support to the Mars Exploration programs
- 2. The Moon, if mined, will be an enormous supplier of rare earthly and industrially strategic elements and will also provide abundant clean energy for Earth's growing power needs and thus help solve its environmental problems.
- 3. The Moon's farside is permanently shielded from the Earth's radio noise. This makes it the best possible site for Radio Astronomy
- 4. What we're doing to our own planet is scary. And what this ever friendly planet might become is even scarier. Besides several types of man made catastrophe, there are indeed too many threats from Earth approaching asteroids waiting to hit our planet.
The types of missions I propose to send:
- 1. To search for evidence giving details about the Moon's violent past and its evolution to its present state
- 2. To more completely map the Moon's elemental and mineralogical composition prior to selecting an outpost site which would suit the best, with respect to various factors
- 3. To establish astronomical observatories, including radio telescopes on the Moon's far side which is shielded from Earth's electronic noise
- 4. To explore the unseen, ever hidden far side of the Moon
- 5. To search for water ice at the Lunar Poles
Why I am choosing these types of Missions
It is globally true there are too many present and future threats to our planet and to our civilization. These can be in the from of Global Warming or from Impacts by asteroids and comets, both which would change the weather patterns and eventually wipe out a considerable portion of the World's Population. Even if Global Warming is managed, and Earth is spared from a serious impactor strike for far into the future, the Moon can serve as a priceless source for minerals depleted on Earth minerals and for potentially valuable elements like Helium-3. Development of boundless clean &endash; energy could be supplied to reduce Earth's Ever-Growing demand. On transforming the Moon to an Inhabited World, the Moon will become a center for Mars and eventually Solar System Exploration.
The advantages and challenges of the types of Missions I am proposing are as follows:
Advantages:
- 1. A permanent Moonbase would provide uninterrupted service and could be a center for long term investments
- 2. A permanently occupied Moonbase will be much easier to repair even if damaged
- 3. Many kinds of (research and construction) activities carried out on the Moon are much easier than in free space, because of the Moon's gravity.
- 4. Local Lunar materials and minerals would be useful for building up and expanding the Lunar base
- 5. Unique products may be producible in the nearly limitless extreme vacuum on the Lunar surface, in turn supporting Lunar Settlement.
- 6. About 45% of the Lunar soil and rock is made up of oxygen, and eventually can be used
Challenges:
- 1. What to do with the accumulated fuel waste, food waste and human waste on the Moon?
- 2. How can we enrich the soil for cultivating food crops on the Moon?
- 3. How can we obtain energy during nighttime
- 4. How can a life supporting system be used for the people on the Moon?
- 5. How can we extract Oxygen from the Lunar Soil?
I propose to address these challenges in the following effective ways:
- 1.These are all carbohydrate and other organic compounds and hence can be easily conserved, recycled and oxidized to give carbon-dioxide for photosynthesis of vegetarian food cultivation on the Moon
- 2.Organic methods including compost manures, worms, etc., are preferred for enriching the soil in a closed system on the Moon. Use of chemical pesticides will be strictly prohibited.
- 3.A small nuclear power plant will be constructed at a considerable distance from the Lunar base for providing energy during Nighttime
- 4.Life supporting systems require life giving elements: hydrogen and oxygen (for water), carbon and nitrogen. Plenty of oxygen is bound in silicate minerals of lunar rocks (about 50% by volume) and solar winds (composed of hydrogen, helium, neon, carbon and nitrogen) provides the rest stored in the upper layers of the moondust, retrievable by heating .
- 5.Oxygen can be extracted from the Lunar soil with the help of the Lunar Oxygen Extraction Pilot Plant.
Unaddressed Challenge: How to create air, water and organic things from minerals and inorganic matters?
Where am I planning to send my Mission? I would like to set up the Moon base at higher latitudes on the Moon, because the higher the latitude the lower Earth will appear above the horizon for a nicer view.
Site Location considerations of key importance:
- 1.All future Lunar missions should be strictly in accordance with the "Moon Treaty". If needed, the Moon Treaty should be amended
- 3.The Lunar resources should be used up to the fullest extent without causing any environmental damage to the Moon
- 4.The site of the Lunar base must be most suitable to carry out various scientific experiments
- 5.Sites of historical and other significance should be protected
A. To determining how much light will plants need during the nighttime
Why: In order to control lightning costs and increase crop growth/harvest
How: By experimenting on the following factors,
- 1.Amount of time in light or darkness
- 2.Moisture of the soil and air
- 3.Watering
- 4.Air and soil temperature
- 5.Type of soil preferably, organic
- 6.Volume of soil per plant
B. To develop and test new technologies
Why: To support human space exploration to Mars and other destinations
How: Use Lunar materials and other Space resources
C. To determine economically minable richer concentrations of industrially strategic elements and subsurface reservoirs of gases?
Why: These minerals and elements will be helpful in building the Moon base and the excess can be exported to the Earth. Thus benefiting both
How: With the help of Neutron Spectrometer and Gamma Ray Spectrometer and other technologies
Additional data to be collected:
- 1.To study the effect of one-sixth gravity on cells, tissues and plants
- 2.What stage of embryonic development is sensitive to the reduced gravity level and why?
- 3.To identify the best location for an outpost from various points of view
Conclusion:
We should expand our civilization outward in space in a safe, supportable, sustainable, and unstoppable manner. The Moon represents the next vital step in this direction. It will be a land to be settled, a supplier of precious and important minerals for the development of clean energy in space and on Earth. Luna will be a location for soaring commercial enterprises. The Luna will be a training base for future explorer to Mars and other planets, hence shaping our future world.
Dream, Dream, Dream,
Dreams transform into thoughts
And thoughts result in action
"Impossible" is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare.
Impossible is potential.
Impossible is temporary.
Impossible is nothing
Q 1. Do you see a future for a permanent human presence on the Moon? And if so, what shape do you see it taking? Science outposts only? Resource-developing settlements supporting themselves with experts to Earth and other outposts in Space as part of an expanded Earth-Moon economy?
The past has already witnessed human presence on the Earth's only satellite &endash; The Moon, the last being the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972, the 6th U.S. Landing Mission. The need of the present is a permanent human presence on the Moon, of which I am sure, will be accomplished in the next 2-3 decades, based on the following indications:
- 1.The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) will send its first unmanned mission to Moon in 2007-08
- 2.Japan has set itself a 30 year plan to establish a permanent Moon base. Japan is planning an unmanned lunar flight called "Lunar A"
- 3.China too has announced plans to go to the Moon. China would be putting a man on the Moon by 2010, establishing a Moon Base soon afterwards.
- 4.U.S. plans have been announced to build a permanent base for men on the Moon
- 5.The European Space Agency has launched an unmanned mission to the Moon called "SMART-1"
A Nuclear power plant for nighttime energy shall be constructed at a considerable distance from the lunar base. A power plant consisting of solar cells (photovoltaic cells) for daytime energy shall be stationed near the base. Local Lunar materials would be quite worthwhile for building up a Lunar base. Some methods like:
- Extraction of Oxygen from Lunar Soil will provide an important resources.
- Oxygen, Iron, Titanium and Sulfur production from ilmenite
- Iron and Steel alloy manufacturing
Low gravity mining of Earth deficient elements on the Moon (such as Helium-3) and exporting them to the Earth will help establish an Earth-Moon Economy which in turn will solve Earth's energy problems.
Q 2. What kind of Sports activities do you imagine on the Moon? Will there ever be any Olympic Lunar event?
The Moon being the top tourist destination of the near future will offer entirely new low gravity games developed specifically for the Moon. But some of sport events, the ones traditionally played on Earth would be modified for lower lunar gravity e.g. heavier javelins, shot puts, discus; and higher basketball hoops, high jumps poles. Yes indeed there would be an Olympic Lunar event called Lunar Olympiad would be held every half a decade (every 5 years) and would bring loads of people and participants skywards to watch and participate in this one of its kind event.
Q 3. If in the future, a Lunar frontier is opened for people, what positive psychological effects if any do you expect this may have on those of us who remain on Earth?
A lunar frontier of the future will not be large enough to provide shelter to a large portion of Human Population, due to lack of resources and other problems. Thus, most of us would not be fortunate enough to visit this sea of Tranquility. But this will surely make us proud to be a part of the most developed creation of God &endash; Human beings, who with their hunger for achievements exceeding the limits, made it possible not only to land but to live on the Moon. Remaining on Earth will not make us feel isolated because it is where it all began - the Creation, the Evolution, the Development and the Achievement. We will be happy to see or hear about any of our friends or relatives who land on Moon. Though most of us may be eager and strive hard to visit the Moon one day, some may be happy because they live more at ease than those who live on the Moon. As once said wisely after a day ends, one must come back to a place which he proudly calls Home Sweet Home.
Q 4. Should the Moon Treaty be changed to provide for the development of the Lunar resources, with due protection for the Moon's environment and its scientific, geological, and scenic treasures?
The "Moon Treaty" is a agreement governing the activities of states on the Moon and other celestial bodies which was opened for signature at New York on December 18th, 1979. The existing articles of the Moon Treaty should not be amended because it has already paid attention to these very important factors in its agreement of 1979 as follows:
- Article 6: State parties may in the course of scientific investigations also use mineral and other substances of the Moon in quantities appropriate for the support of their Mission.
- Article 7: State parties shall take measures to prevent disruption of existing balance of its environment…
- Article 11: ….. The main… shall include: The orderly and safe development of the natural resources of the Moon.
But two new articles should be added: In accordance with the Article 18 of the Moon Treaty
- New Article 22 stating protection of private enterprise and the role of tourism, and
- New Article 23 stating the areas visited by the American Apollo and Soviet Lunakhod Missions may be considered as historical treasures and must be protected.
Q 5. Why would you like to take trip on the Moon? Why?
Yes, I'd like to take a trip to the Sea of Tranquility. The Moon, whose light shows me the right direction to my home sweet home when there's no light due to electricity problems. I would like to visit the Moon as the best tourist destination with half work and the rest play. I would like to sink in every imaginable (as though on Earth) sort of environment the Moon would provide. The Earth would be a splendid sight from its surface. It would be a trip of a lifetime.
The Lunar base would be the fruits of seeds sown by those who have achieved mastery in their respective fields. It would be a great adventure to be deeply connected with the satellite of the third planet from the Sun. On looking at out Home planet Earth from the Moon it would seem as if I have reached a place of Sanctity. I hope reading this, millions would like to visit the Moon one day just as I do.
Q 6. Do you think that putting an outpost on the Moo will be help to human exploration of Mars?
Mars being the closest place to look for life elsewhere, as well as the most promising place to look, will surely get great help and support from establishment of an outpost on the Moon. Lunar Mines and factories would be the supply source for various Metals and Equipment needed for manned and unmanned Mars Exploration. The Moon's resources can be used to manufacture items needed to support the Mars Initiative. A Moon base will play an important role as a stepping stone to Mars and eventually to other planets of the Solar System.
Theo Allen Fernandes
