What if we make a space base on the moon?
It has been more than 50 years since humanity first succeeded in travelling to the moon and back. Today, we are taking steps to move beyond one-time visits and bring the dream of living on the moon into reality by constructing a moon base. NASA aims to visit the moon again by 2024.
The moon base envisioned by ESA
The plan is to transport an inflatable dome to the moon using a rocket and build exterior walls out of soil, etc., found on the moon using 3D printing technology. These walls are intended to protect the base from cosmic radiation and meteorites falling from space.
Where should the moon base be built?
Shackleton crater
The top candidate location for the moon base is Shackleton Crater near the lunar south pole. It is named after famous Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton, and it measures 21km in diameter and 4.2km in depth.
We suspect that water is preserved in frozen form within the blue part at the bottom of the crater as it is out of the reach of sunlight throughout the year. This can serve as an important resource for drinking water, air, and fuel.
Extreme temperature differences are experienced on the moon due to its lack of atmosphere. The temperature of the lunar equator region soars to 120 degrees Celsius during the day and drops down to -180 degrees Celsius at night. However, the daily temperature differences are much less dramatic in the polar regions.
The protruding top part of the Shackleton crater is exposed to sunlight most of the day throughout the year and therefore is ideal for solar power generation.
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