Building a Base on the Moon

So mankind is beginning to reach into space. In the past, our efforts beyond the Earth’s atmosphere have been purely strategic and political. Now, scientific advancement is becoming a priority for government agencies and business opportunities are beginning to show themselves for private enterprise. So what’s the next step? If we are to make the ultimate push into space and actually live out there, we must use any natural resource to our advantage. Strategically speaking, the Moon is an ideal stepping stone for mankind to spread our influence beyond Earth. So where do we start?

Having just completed my “Building a Base on the Moon” series on the Universe Today, it is evident that we are gradually developing the right technology and moving in the right direction. But we have a long way to go before we accomplish the ultimate lunar habitat…

The complete Universe Today “Building a Base on the Moon” series:

• Building a Base on the Moon: Part 1 – Challenges and Hazards
• Building a Base on the Moon: Part 2 – Habitat Concepts
• Building a Base on the Moon: Part 3 – Structural Design
• Building a Base on the Moon: Part 4 – Infrastructure and Transportation

Check out Part 4 for an exclusive interview with Florian Ruess, an extreme environment structural engineer with HE².