The european moon base

[MarkusS]

No other space agency has such detailed plans for a manned moon base than ESA. ESA plans to 3D-print the walls of the base with special robotic technology and already tested the system on earth. So far it can build up 2 meters of wall each hour.

That here is a first real test ESA did:

The moon soil walls also protect its inhabitants from radiation and micro impacts. So far ESA is still looking for the best place. The proposal is to build it as close as possible to the mountains of eternal light. This mountain range is at the polar region and the mountains tops bath always in the sun light. Very close are valleys which never see sunlight and the eternal darkness there allows frozen water ice to exist in vast masses.

Russia asked ESA to be part of the project. It is doubtful at the moment that this is possible because political reasons but i would be happy if we find partners in this project. Unfortunately USA is concentrated on Mars and does not participate in the moon race that much but ESA thinks that the moon is the logical step before Mars. So far only China and Japan also push plans for a moon base forward.

In the EU Germany is the greatest supporter of this adventure. Germany is the force behind the development of the Ariane V ME, a extremly powerful rocket that can launch large masses as well into LEO and into a lunar trajectory. I think all this will be realized in the mid 20th and it will be good to have a partnership with others. At least i hope the settlement of the moon does not cause hostility.

 

[Pangu]

Very nice! it would be interesting to see how the scientist are going to tackle the issues of gravitation, water & food supply, energy resources and emergency contingency protocol and stuff.

 

[MarkusS]

Very nice! it would be interesting to see how the scientist are going to tackle the issues of gravitation, water & food supply, energy resources and emergency contingency protocol and stuff.

The water supply is secure. There is much water in larger valleys and craters nearby. They did chose that region because of that. The valleys and crater fllors are never reached from sunlight and vast amounts of water ice are captured there. This was already checked from orbital spacecrafts:

So water is not a problem. The moon is an incredible dry world, but on some areas are vast amounts of water ice.

The food supply is another issue. At first the base must be supplied from earth. Similar like we do with the ISS. Certain goods will be transported with ESA ATV vehicle, which also brings goods to the ISS:

But certain goods can also be grown on the moon. Greenhouses can be build and vegetables and other plants can grow. Special algae can produce the own oxygen there in so called algae bio reactors:

Experiments show, that moon soil is very fertile. So far ferns, tomato and corn grow very strong in lunar soil. This is very good, because it gives us evrything we need to build up a sustainable base. We have water, food and even oxygen production. Now comes the energy question. The moon has a blocked rotation. That means one side always faces to the earth. The lunar night is very long (354 hours). This is a great challenger for solar power generation. But there are high mountains at the polar reagion that always have sun light. You can build up solar relays there and transfer the energy to the base.

The gravity situation is a question that is not so well understood yet. The moon does has gravity but far less than earth. For example i have 89 Kg weight. On the Moon my weight would be 14,7 kg. Tests suggest that you must do each day at least 2 hours extensive muscle training to stay in shape. It is not as bad as in a zero g environment but it has effects if you do not train.

Another issue is, that you must learn to adapt to this environment. I propably would feel like superman there. We are simply not used to be able to jump 8 - 9 meters high or turn a car around.