Moon Base Colony

By Phillip Duke Ph.D.

The Earth's Moon is much more suitable than Mars for an off-world colony. The Moon is much closer, and this plus its low gravity facilitates transport between Earth and Moon. The unfavorable lunar surface conditions are negated by living underground. With energy provided by nuclear and solar energy, and employing complete recycling, the Moon Base Colony is successful.

In the author's opinion, such a Moon based colony is practical now.

This book describes such a colony of humans on the Moon. It follows the technological, social, physical and psychological changes brought about by living on the Moon for 10 centuries/20 generations..After 20 generations humans have adapted to the Moon's much lower gravity, and the necessity of living underground under crowded lunar conditions, to the extent that they look very different from the early settlers. But they are still human beings.

Persons interested in the subjects of colonizing off world, and the future of humanity in space when these worlds are colonised, will enjoy reading this book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Phillip Duke Ph.D.
• Release date: Mar 13, 2013
• ISBN: 9781497716421

Book preview

Moon Base Colony

By

Phillip Duke Ph.D.

Copyright © 2012 Phillip Duke Ph.D. all rights reserved.

13,740 Words.

With 4 Illustrations.

Author’s Introduction

The Moon is by far the most attractive site for an off-Earth base colony, because its weak one-sixth Earth gravity and relative nearness to Earth, make travel between Earth and Moon relatively easy. The great advantages of nearness and lower gravity, in comparison with the much greater distance and higher gravity of a Mars colony, make the Moon colony concept much more attractive than a colony on Mars.. 

Man has already been to the Moon, man has walked on the Moon, and man has driven a Moon –buggy on the Moon. So the Moon is really not so difficult for man to visit, and then return to Earth. The following pictures of the Apollo mission manned flights to the Moon show that the difficulties presented by the Moon’s distance, airless surface and temperature extremes can be overcome, because they have already been overcome. After repeatedly visiting the Moon, the next logical step is to establish a colony on the Moon, or rather in the Moon, because a Moon colony would be underground, to avoid the unfavorable surface conditions.

Apollo 11 first manned mission to the Moon launch photograph.

Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong’s boot print in Lunar surface dust.

Apollo 14 Moon buggy excursion on the Moon’s surface.

People on/in the Moon would be required to live under very different conditions, than people living on Earth. On Earth the simple necessities of life, air and water, are readily available, but on the Moon, there is naturally no air, and no water, On Earth, the temperature may sometimes make life difficult; on the Moon’s surface it is always far too cold or hot for life.  The force of gravity on the Moon is only one sixth of what it is on Earth, so a man who weighs 180 pounds on the Earth would weigh only 30 pounds on the Moon. The lower gravity makes it much easier to move around, and lift and move heavy objects, which is all to the good. However, working against gravity keeps bones and muscles strong. Moon Base inhabitants will necessarily lose bone and muscle mass.

Whenever people settle and live in new and different environments, they are subject to those environments. Environmentally favored inherited characteristics accumulate over time, and can eventually result in appreciable differences. On Earth differences in climate resulted in the three different human races. On the Moon, a number of environmental conditions are very different from those on Earth. On Earth, people can go outside most anytime, where they can feel wind, and rain, see the sky, and experience the Sun. On the Moon, there is no experiencing rain, wind, sky or Sun, because there is no rain or wind, and only a very select few ever go outside, and when they do, it is in cumbersome space suits, with special eye protection against the airless Sun’s harsh glare.

Living in an entirely artificial, enclosed environment, under severely cramped and crowded conditions, with the knowledge that the environment outside is entirely hostile to life, must take its toll psychologically. On Earth, the only comparable living condition is that of people in submarines. Submarine personnel are specially selected for emotional stability, and they get top quality food, bonus pay, and shore leave. When the sub surfaces crewmembers may be able to go topside and breathe fresh air. On the Moon, there is no special personnel selection, everyone eats the same (rather monotonous) vegetarian food, and there are no bonuses or shore leave. In addition, no one ever goes topside to breathe fresh air, because on the Moon there is no air topside, just the instantly deadly vacuum of empty space.

The Moon’s greatly reduced gravity can be expected to affect body structures and functions; a 180-pound man on Earth would weigh only 30 pounds on the