How far are we from building a Lunar base on the moon?
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| Lunar base camp |
Building a lunar base isn't easy. It takes decades of practice and expertise. Let's see what are the requirements necessary to do that
Why go now?
It's been 50 years since the Apollo landing. In these 50 years, not many countries have tried to go to the moon. But in recent times most countries try to have a permanent base on the moon; the question is why now?
Because now is the time we have a sufficient amount of Technology to sustain habitats on the moon. Also living on the Moon would help us in future missions to Mars. So what do you think we need to establish a permanent lunar base on the moon?
Shelter
Choosing the right location to establish a lunar base is one of the primary concerns. NASA has selected many lunar landing sites, but out of all the landing sites, the one that NASA is deeply interested in is Shackleton Crater. This crater is located near the South Pole of the Moon and most likely the lunar base is constructed near this crater. It is because of the fact that there may be water ice present inside this crater.
This shelter should protect astronauts from various Environmental effects such as radiation, small meteorites, etc. This base might house about four persons per month.
Transportation
Transportation is one of the most important factors. There are two forms of transportation; one from Earth to the Moon to provide supplies and another to roam around on the lunar surface for conducting experiments. The earth to moon transportation should be frequent in order to deliver cargo for the survival of astronauts.
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| Lunar Terrain Vehicle |
Also, a lunar Terrain Vehicle is an unpressurized, open-top vehicle. It should have a range of about 12 miles. As it is a non-pressure vehicle, astronauts should be on their spacesuits in order to ride the vehicle.
Power
Power is one of the most essential resources to survive on the moon. Solar power is widely used but materials required to make solar power are not available on the moon. Also, the moon has a 14 day night schedule as it is in the south pole.
In order to overcome this Nuclear Fission may be used. This Nuclear Fission reactor should produce a power of 10 KW. This amount of power should be necessary to conduct the experiments and ensure the survival of the astronauts. But nuclear reactors are far riskier compared to solar power. One explosion could enable the South Pole to be inhabitable for a thousand years.
Food and Water
Nobody can live without food and water. In the beginning, the food and water used by the astronauts are brought by cargo. Then they had to rely on their own food. The feces of the astronauts are recycled to provide manure to grow food and their urine is recycled to produce water. Water can also be readily available on the moon if they could melt the ice in the south pole.
Work
The astronauts should work on the day, this means putting on their spacesuit and go around to collect samples and do experiments on them. They can also use the LTV to collect samples. Some of the astronaut's jobs should be to maintain the life support systems and to provide a clean environment on the lunar base.
Science
Having a base in the lunar soil will provide a tremendous increase in scientific inventions. NASA has also planned to place a radio telescope on the far side of the Moon. This is because the far side may receive no radio signals from the earth and there will be no scrambling of signals. Thereby astronomers could have clear visibility of the Galaxy.
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| Moon Research Station |
Conclusion
That said, we will have to wait for about 6 or 7 years for the beginning of the construction of the lunar base. This will be a major leap in Humanity's exploration into space.
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