[Anonymouse]

Originally Posted by Halcyon

However, do we really need to put in all this money to get a base set up on the moon and an eco system going, when there are still a million things to be done on earth....like helping the homeless, etc.

I'd suggest talking to the armed forces of the world about that. They talk about 'protection' and 'defence' - against whom, exactly? Newsflash, guys: the Cold War is over. The Wall is down. We don't need the so-called deterrent any more, if we ever did. The poor and hungry of the world could be helped many times over with what's spent every year on what is essentially the largest and most parasitic industry in the world - namely weapons that aren't intended ever to be used. Is it just me, or does that sound like a colossal waste of our money?

In terms of what it'll cost to set up a moonbase, you're thinking too short-term - like the many politicians who cut off Apollo at the knees. As with any major capital investment, it'll take years, even decades, to see any return on space travel. But when we do, the dividends will be in the trillions.

Consider: there are useful, valuable minerals on the Moon. With no native life or ecosystems to worry about, open cast and strip-face mining, two most efficient methods, could be used. You'd only have to send a few mining machines to the Moon; others could be built in situ, for next to no cost.

There are various industries which depend on the use of vacuum, which is difficult and expensive to achieve on Earth. On the Moon, there's no need; the entire Moon is a vacuum environment. Power isn't a problem, either; you can rely on solar power 24/7, since there are no clouds to worry about. There are physiological advantages, too; lower gravity places much less strain on the heart, lungs and bones, potentially extending lifespans - although it's true that if you stayed on the Moon long enough, you'd find it difficult or impossible to cope with the Earth's gravity however much you exercised.

Then there's the question of sending the minerals and/or refined metals to Earth. Easy and cheap. The Moon's escape velocity is only a fraction of Earth's, so it isn't necessary to have loads boosting all the way to Earth, using up tons of expensive fuel. In effect, they simply fall into Earth's gravity well and just need the odd nudge on the way down to ensure they land where we want them. Or you could use an induction catapult, as depicted in Heinlein's The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress.

Then there's space tourism, which is already starting. Oh, initially it'll be for the rich and famous, yes - but if you think about it, so was air travel when it first started, and now it's routine. The principle is the same; the result will be the same. All it needs is a few shrewd investors to sink a few billion into it. It will happen; I'm hoping I live long enough to see it and, if possible, do it. Hands up anyone who wouldn't love to get the same views of Earth from orbit that the Shuttle astronauts do.

Liars!

I admit I'm not exactly holding my breath for the prospect of Richard Branson pulling it off, but he's not the only one who's interested in the idea.

Looking at it from another view, it could be the most dangerous thing ever. Lets say we build this bubble aquariam cover and get an eco system going. All well and good..... Until Mr Terrorist comes along and blasts a missile into the roof, and everyone there is no more.

It's one thing to sneak explosives into somewhere such as the Metro, where there are multiple entrances. But on a moonbase? With a very limited number of entrances, and every one an airlock at that? Not a chance. It wouldn't be possible to sneak into a moonbase - any hull breach would be detected immediately and the perpetrator dealt with.

Surely personnel would be thoroughly vetted; they'd also have to be highly trained in order to have any right to be there at all. After all, at first it's going to cost a fortune per person to send them, and therefore that money isn't going to be spent on anyone who isn't essential to base operations, at least not for the five or more years it'd likely take to make such a base a going concern. Initially any moonbase will be manned solely by astronauts, engineers and scientists - anyone who wasn't supposed to be there would be very quickly identified. Mr. Terrorist isn't going to just 'come along'. To do anything to a moonbase, first he's got to get there; it's not a question of just catching a taxi or a bus, it's a little matter of 238,000 miles or so. Are the crew of any Lunar craft going to let anyone on board they don't know and who hasn't been cleared? As if. Stowaway? Where? How?


Besides, everyone in the base would have their own pressure suit, and there would be airtight doors which could seal off any section which was losing pressure for whatever reason - basic engineering. You couldn't take out the entire base and/or personnel just like that. No, I think terrorism won't be a real concern on the Moon for years to come, and probably not then. A Lunar environment would be - would have to be - far more rigidly controlled than anything on Earth. To borrow from Arthur C. Clarke's Imperial Earth, those who feel like abandoning their social responsibilities on the Moon must first practice breathing vacuum (he was referring to the hydro-methane atmosphere of Titan, but the principle's the same).