When Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon for the first time in human history, he declared that’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind’. However, when the time comes for us to extend our reach to the stars and beyond, the perfect stepping stone would of course be Earth’s very own natural satellite, the Moon. To build a base on the moon will be complicated; to carry anything into space requires a lot of money and resources, as space in the cargo hold is precious. However, currently the only things stopping us from constructing a base on the moon is the amount of monetary resources the government will allow, or further technological advancements to make the trip cheaper.
Let us say the government had these resources, and then building a base on the moon would be one step closer to achievement. Such an operation would be the successor of the lunar missions and could be known as the Lunar Basis missions. This mission would require numerous steps and tedious procedures but would also be a worthwhile effort. Building a lunar base would really help the astronomic community, as it could become the new base of operation. As the moon has no atmosphere, telescopes will be able to see better (possibly even better than the Hubble telescope). Spaceships destined for other planets can also be launched with less ease, as the escape velocity of the moon is lower than the earth’s.
The first step in building such a structure would be to launch all the equipment to the moon first to wait for the construction workers. However, if robotic builders (more complex than our current technology permits) were to be sent with the materials, they could do it for us. Those robots would build the main structures of the moon base and then wait for the construction workers or even more complex robots capable of performing minute and intricate work to put the final touches to the base. Once the main structure is complete, the robots would then proceed to create a mechanism to generate oxygen inside biospheres.
The construction of these biospheres that could provide oxygen would pose the second problem, to grow plants to generate oxygen in such an environment the plants would require water. Thankfully, recent studies have shown that rocks on the moon may contain tiny traces of water that could be extracted using the robots. Once sufficient water is collected, a facility to renew the water once it has been used would have to be built. This is all possible if the studies that show that water is available on the moon prove to be true.
After the lunar base is up and running, it would require massive amounts of power. This power could easily be generate by solar energy since there are no clouds to block sunlight on the moon. However, solar energy will out be enough scientists would have to figure out away to perform nuclear fusion for the facilities on the moon. Fortunately, the moon is cloudless thus; we can use solar energy to first split hydrogen atoms from oxygen atoms by utilizing the power of the sun, then nuclear fusion is applied to create energy and safe drinking water.
When this lunar base is up and running, the first of the lunar basis missions can begin. First families of scientists would be launched to the moon, these scientists would really bring their families who are proven physically fit. Bringing families instead of groups of scientists is because psychological studies show that humans are more likely to get along better in family units rather than by themselves with complete strangers. After adapting to the lunar environment, these families could start the moon colony and subsequently pave the way for further space exploration programs.
