Moon is the closest astronomical body of Earth. Physical exploration of moon began when Soviet Union, made an impact on the surface of the moon on September 14, 1959. Exploration of the moon has taught us much about the evolution of the solar system and ourselves. But it took a space-age exploration to show us how the moon is connected to human existence on a very fundamental level. Exploration of moon also creates new business opportunities for technological innovations, applications and utilization of new resources. Finally, establishing an outpost on the moon enables us to extend exploration and settlements to planets and moons beyond Earth. Outpost implies a lab, a lunar habitat where scientists and engineers can live and work for an extended period of time.
Setting up a base on the moon may be a key to understand our past and a jumpstart to our future. Sampling the moon’s ancient craters would reveal how the Earth-Moon system formed. We can also study the moon’s water cycle and its seismology. The lunar ice could act as an archive, detailing how water was brought to the Moon by comets and asteroids. As these would have also carried water to our planet, such an understanding would tell us as much about the history of Earth as it does the Moon.
Installing a radio telescope on the far side which would be shielded from Earth’s electromagnetic interference, would enable us to study radiation from the early universe and in the exploration of exoplanets too. Addition to that lunar mining is another possibility. In the longer term, it could be possible to extract iron and titanium from lunar rocks. One important resource might be lunar ice, which scientists think we could use to create rocket fuel. We could extract the ice, isolate the oxygen and hydrogen, and manufacture fuel on the moon. A lunar return mission that refuelled at moon would cost just one fifth of the price of one that brings all its fuel with it from Earth. Moon’s gravity is very low when compared to Earth. Means that it would be much cheaper to stock up for long distance space travel from moon than it is from Earth. Setting up a rocket launch pad on moon will make our interplanetary journeys much better and cheaper.
Scientists using the data from India’s Chandrayaan-1 orbiter found that the moon’s ice lies on its surface in permanently shaded craters as frigid as -249 degree Celsius. Sunlight channelled into craters with mirrors could heat the ice and an overhead dome could capture water vapour or rovers that could be equipped with ovens that would warm ice-filled soil to make water. The ovens could be powered wireless, by training high power lasers onto photovoltaic cells on the rover. Another important resource is regolith – layer of unconsolidated rocky material covering bedrock. Regolith is considered as another source of water on the moon and as the material to build a moon base. Regolith contains silica and metallic oxides. Oxygen can be obtained from this
soil and could produce useful by products such as rare metals. For that we need to use giant mirrors to channel sunlight onto a furnace heating regolith to more than 900 degree C. At that temperature hydrogen or oxygen, bought initially from Earth can strip oxygen from its mineral
and bind the element together with hydrogen to make water. Also for the construction of lunar base we can use regolith, for which we need to ship 3D printers using the regolith with the help of sunlight that is available on the moon surface, by baking layer after the layer the moon base in a completely automatic manner. We need to build thick walls between the people inside the base and the harmful environment outside. And we can use moon base as a testing ground for an eventual space colony. Because right now we have no data on the health of astronauts living on another astronomical body for months at a time.
We can discover how efficiently we can be on another world, since we won’t be able to ship all our supplies. In this ways moon is holding great opportunities and lessons for humankind in space exploration. Hope we can utilise it soon.
REFERENCES:
1)Exploration of the Moon:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploration_of_the_Moon
2)How to build a Moon base
:https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-07107-4
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