Methods for Constructing a Lunar Base.
How to Make the Colony Self-sustaining6.
Figure 1 Artist Rendering of a Lunar Facility.1 .
Figure 2 Human Survival Diagram3.
Figure 3 Greenhouse.4.
Figure 4 Spacesuits5.
Figure 5 Solar Array.6.
Abstract.
The purpose of this report is to confirm the feasibility of constructing a lunar colony with current technology. The options available for base construction, including inflatables, solid structures, and underground areas will be discussed. Next is a step by step process of how to keep people alive by providing a solution to each of the fundamental issues facing the colonists, some of those being, air water, and food. The next subject covered is how to keep the personnel healthy. Those areas of discussion are protection and safety, heat, light, and hygiene. Lastly, this paper explores options for the colony to become self-sustaining, whether by promoting tourism or export raw materials and finished products.
Introduction.
A feasibility study asks the question "Is it possible to accomplish this particular mission given the capabilities and knowledge that mankind currently possesses?" The particular mission this study covers is lunar colonization. The attempt to install human beings onto an extraterrestrial object for long periods of time is not a new endeavor. Human beings have been living in space since the orbiting station Skylab launched in 1973. Today's incarnation of life outside Earth's biosphere is the International Space Station (ISS). Started in 1998 and continuously occupied since 2000, the ISS is a beacon of possibility. .
However, the ISS is not self-sustaining. That is the ultimate goal of a lunar colony. This paper demonstrates the feasibility of constructing an initial lunar facility and the following necessary expansion required to achieve independent functionality. It will define the four main issues at hand; construction, survival needs, health needs, and opportunities for self-sustaining operation.
