Build Moon base first; then send humans to Mars, scientist says

By Dick Pelletier

      

    In a recent Futurist Magazine article, Finding Eden on the Moon, Dr. Joseph Pelton, Research Professor with the Institute for Applied Space Research at George Washington University, makes a compelling argument for building a Moon settlement.

    Establishing a presence on the Moon would generate major scientific and economic gains; and could be accomplished with minimal risks and costs, Pelton says. 'Smart' robots would build a human-friendly outpost, and within a decade, it would be ready for humans to begin a wide range of profitable activities.

    For example, with raw materials available on the lunar surface, workers could manufacture satellites on the Moon and lower them to Earth orbit slots saving billions over launching from Earth's heavier gravity.

    Another job suggested by Japan's Shimizu Corporation would be to install a Luna Ring Solar Power Generator. In this massive energy dream, robots would lay solar cells along the 11,000km lunar equator collecting electricity to beam down to Earth, which could one day end our dependency on fossil fuels.

    Enthusiasts say the Moon's face receives 13,000 trillion watts of solar power continuously. This is 650 times the amount of power required by the entire human population, according to space power expert David Criswell. Forward thinkers believe this game-changing scheme would provide stable electric power to a greater part of society, steering the world towards a more steady recession-proof economic growth.

    The Moon boasts several advantages over Mars as our first permanent offworld settlement, Pelton says. We can communicate with humans on the Moon with only a few seconds' delay, where Mars transmissions would suffer delays up to 20 minutes. This could prove fatal in emergencies.

    In addition, the Moon has resources that would make construction more affordable. Water can be produced by treating lunar soil with hydrogen imported from Earth. Mixing lunar soil and gravel would make concrete, while bricks, glass fibers and other materials could be formed with solar-heat treatments.

    Building a Moon base would be even more cost-effective if governments and private industry from the U.S., Russia, Europe, Japan, and China collaborated. Also bandied about is a wild idea to move the ISS nearer to the Moon with scientists aboard to supervise robot construction from a closer vantage point.

    In 2010, President Obama cancelled NASA's scheduled Moon trip and proposed instead, manned trips to an asteroid by 2025, and Mars by the 2030s; plus a plan to encourage private industry to develop less expensive ways to access low-Earth-orbit and lunar areas, and create new profitable space activities.

    Experts believe that privatizing space development could repeat what the shift from government controls of computer and information technologies did in the 70s and 80s. During that era, businesses were encouraged to develop new technologies, which created the Internet and led to successes like Apple, Intel, Microsoft, and Google, which in turn gave us 'smart' phones, tablets, Twitter, and FaceBook.

    Economists believe that space ventures boast lucrative opportunities at a time when financial woes dominate the news. Las Vegas executive Robert Bigelow, owner of Budget Suites of America, has launched two successful test versions of inflatable orbiting habitats, and he plans to one day deploy a private space station larger than the ISS to accommodate government and corporate research needs.

    Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson created SpaceShipTwo, which by 2015 will carry tourists 62 miles above Earth where passengers can enjoy the thrill of floating about the cabin in zero-gravity.

    Here's a daring idea to stimulate space development: use government help to construct a proposed space elevator that climbs a 62,000-mile nano-ribbon lifting payloads into space at 120 mph; required carbon nanotubes could be available by late 2030s, experts say. This technology would slash today's $10,000 per-pound cost of getting stuff off the planet, and entice entrepreneurs to head for the stars.

    If we are to develop an offworld post capable of sustaining life, Pelton says, it will take a cooperative entrepreneurial approach; but the rewards will be huge. We would realize that we are not restricted to a single planet anymore. By the 2030s, a few bold space pioneers could be calling the Moon their home.

This article appeared in various print publications and on-line blogs. Comments always welcome.