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posted by martyb on Tuesday September 26 2017, @06:16AM   Printer-friendly
from the Mike-and-Manny-and-Wyo-say-"Hi!" dept.

https://phys.org/news/2017-09-moon-lunar-village.html (AFP)

By 2040, a hundred people will live on the Moon, melting ice for water, 3D-printing homes and tools, eating plants grown in lunar soil, and competing in low-gravity, "flying" sports.

To those who mock such talk as science fiction, experts such as Bernard Foing, ambassador of the European Space Agency-driven "Moon Village" scheme, reply the goal is not only reasonable but feasible too.

At a European Planetary Science Congress in Riga this week, Foing spelt out how humanity could gain a permanent foothold on Earth's satellite, and then expand.

He likened it to the growth of the railways, when villages grew around train stations, followed by businesses.

By 2030, there could be an initial lunar settlement of six to 10 pioneers—scientists, technicians and engineers—which could grow to 100 by 2040, he predicted.

"In 2050, you could have a thousand and then... naturally you could envisage to have family" joining crews there, Foing told AFP .


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  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 26 2017, @12:32PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 26 2017, @12:32PM (#573067)

    The moon is not a great place for residence.

    No known place except Earth is.

    Seemingly unmentioned is the two week long nights or the cyclic extremes in temperature going from 400 degrees F during the day weeks to -330 F during the night weeks.

    Do your habitat underground (it's a good idea anyway, due to radiation, as you are not protected by Earth's magnetic field — that's true also on Mars), then the ground shields you from extreme temperatures.

    BTW, what about a habitat near one of the poles?

    The people who resided on the moon for any length of time would likely be physically unable to ever return to Earth.

    The Moon has 1/6 of the gravity of Earth. While we have no long-term data for living under those conditions, it's certainly far less extreme than microgravity as on the ISS. In particular. you're still putting force on your bones; if that alone is not sufficient, just carry around extra weight (as soon as you leave the habitat, you'll have to do that anyway, due to your space suit).

    And if that is not sufficient, occasional larger accelerations are not really a problem: Every amusement park offers that.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 26 2017, @11:36PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 26 2017, @11:36PM (#573567)

    ...as some folks on Earth already do with e.g. ankle weights [google.com]
    Make a suit out of the same stuff (lead pellets in pouches) and wear it a few hours a day.

    -- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]