Lunar habitation: The moon, a stepping stone to Mars and beyond.
People often ask; Why should we go to the moon? The moon is like a dry infertile dessert without an atmosphere and water (Levchenko, et al., 2021). Well, most of it is true but there is evidence of water in the lunar pole regions, most of it trapped in old craters (Li, et al., 2018; Deutsch, 2019). The presence of water on the moon opens a new era in lunar exploration (Hurley, et al., 2023). The presence of water opened an era where we can establish a permanent settlement on the moon.
A permanent presence on the moon is necessary to understand what our capabilities are in space, such as technology and understanding of operations and the exploration of the solar system (Mendell, 1991). The moon can function as a test location for vehicles, methods and the exploration of other lunar and planetary surfaces (Connolly, et al., 2018). To stay on the moon we need a safe place to work, eat and sleep. Such a place could be established in the form of a moon base as planned in the Artemis Program. One of the objectives of the Artemis Program is the return of humans to the moon for lunar and deep space exploration (Merancy, et al., 2022).
Picture generated by AI.
Picture generated by AI.
The establishment of an occupied lunar base is a stepping stone into space and enables our species to use local resources and develop new technologies and gain more knowledge (Marov & Slyuta, 2021). At this moment in time the main reasons for a permanent settlement on the moon is for our technical, scientific and also financial development. But the moon can also reduce future costs of exploring our solar system and beyond. Rockets and future spacecrafts launched from the moon don’t need to escape the Earth’s gravity reducing cost (Ruess, et al., 2006). Besides scientific and technological development establishing a colony on the moon is a major step for our species evolving beyond a planetary species (Das, 2021).