With the rapid growth in population and drastic climate changes, the earth is about to be inhabitable in our lifetime, and we’ll have no choice but look to move to the Moon. Crazy right? Well, not so much. Look at the research on how fast our motherland, the earth is dying, thanks to humans. Global warming is causing a rapid rise in temperatures which in turn cause the ice sheets in the world to melt leading to drastic climate changes. The last time it happened was 1000 years ago, and if it happens today, severe flooding will befall the earth’s major cities. Recently took a look at the potentiality of moving to the moon, and we are going to further explore this notion.
What are the climatic conditions in the Moon?
The atmosphere does not exist in the Moon; therefore, if we’re to go there, we’ll need some protection from the solar radiation. The Moon has ice reserves in the South Pole with a stable temperature of zero degrees Celsius. The other regions vary from 123 degrees to -190 degrees Celsius.
For shelter, we’d use lunar regolith that we can use to make bricks for building purposes. It is similar to the earth’s volcanic sand. The blocks we’d create through microwave sintering using concentrated lasers will offer protection against the sun’s radiation. As at now, no one can claim ownership to land on the Moon. However, buildings on the Moon are considered a private property on their own.
Reality checks
When on the Moon, each person consumes an average of 1,095 to 1,825 pounds of food per annum. Moreover, living there would necessitate eating a healthy diet all the time because we would burn about 300 calories every hour by merely existing there. The Moon has low gravity levels, roughly one-sixth of the earth’s therefore, to maintain our bone mass, we would need more energy to work out.
The weather conditions on the Moon make it impossible to grow food there, although our brilliant scientists are working on how to get around it. If we transport all the chemicals essential for growing food to the Moon, then it’s a possibility to grow the food after ensuring the necessary conditions are in place.
We cannot dare forget the high-energy cosmic rays we would expose to our food. Measures such as an underground lunar greenhouse need setting up to shield the crops from the hazardous radiation. We could use hydroponics to protect the food from harmful chemicals in the moon dust i.e., lunar soil. Solar radiation poses risks of cancer to us, and therefore protective measures is a must for every individual who would live on the Moon.
Moondust is not in any way, a trivial matter. According to Gene Cernan, it is the only barrier to future expeditions. The Apollo astronauts faced challenges with the dust dubbed as “lunar hayfever.” They experienced irritation in their eyes, nostrils, and lungs. They went for only a short time. Imagine what it would be like for those who decide to inhabit there for the rest of their lives.
Moving to the Moon is quite viable, but probably for the next generation because a lot more research is necessary to make it habitable.