With the recent discovery of water on the moon, the question can be asked, is it time to finally colonize the moon? It is something that needs to be done in baby steps and it will take several decades before we would be able to have a manned base on "Luna Firma". Is it even feasible? Mineral rich asteroids have been crashing into the moon for eons, so there would be a rich supply of various precious metals to provide economic benefit to the mission. It may take 200 years to develop a functional colony in outer space, and by that time we may have exhausted the majority of our known resource supply. Furthermore, in the event that we needed to invade Mars for its oil supply, the moon would provide us with a fantastic launching pad.
I say that we should begin the colonization process. There are economic benefits, military applications, and it would be a beautiful way to spark the imagination of the next generation!
Beam me up Scotty! For some more Iceman thoughts on science, technology, and the future, read my piece on cryogenics... :)
I imagine you could also fetch a pretty penny from selling seats on the shuttle to rich celebrities. Let's milk the Hollywood elite to fund our space expansion program. I wonder what would be the first fast food chain to open up a franchise on Luna Firma?
ReplyDeletePleeze! This is so "pie in the sky". Countries are still arguing about who "owns" Antarctica and the North Pole. Cheers.
ReplyDeleteI am yet to be convinced that they have indeed found water on the moon. With all the "science for money" going on lately if NASA were to tell me the time of day I will check my watch.
ReplyDeleteJust send up the Rosedale gang. That'd be a good start.
ReplyDeletePrivate companies are making inroads into space. Certainly, we should colonize the moon, but that should be up to private companies that see the uses of it. Luna is most likely rich in minerals and materials, and I doubt it will take 200 years to get a colony on the moon when companies are already building expandable habitats that are on the verge of being ready for use on the moon. The hardest part that I can see is making sure we have the proper atmosphere for the people living there.
ReplyDeleteGetting minerals from the moon makes no sense except to build things on the moon. The cost of extracting gold, silver or platinum from the moon or asteroids far exceeds the market value of these precious metals as well.
ReplyDeleteTwo things which are available on the moon and will be easier to get with lunar water for the workforce are solar energy and Helium3. Solar panels on the moon can provide energy beamed to Earth, or Helium3 can power fusion reactors on Earth.
The economics of space are very interesting and much different from what we are used to thinking about on Earth.