Are we the last generation to see the moon
as our ancestors did since the Stone Age?
If you are in a clear night with a bright moon in the sky where there are
many other people, you will see that no one raises their head to look at
the moon. The moon is simply not a sensation, it is only too well
known. This will soon change!
The first lunar colony will be home to around one to two dozen scientists.
(click to enlarge - NASA rules must be obeyed)
This is how we see the moon when
we look up into the night sky -
very familiar to everone.
In a hundred years, our moon could look like this. Human settlement is clearly visible on
the night side. Many eyes will turn to the moon from Earth because relatives or friends
are working and living up there.
Even allowing for the usual delays that often occur in space flight
projects when big plans are announced, permanently inhabited
stations will be established on the moon in the coming decades. The
USA, China and Russia, and many other nations as their partners, are
currently investing a lot of money to explore the possibilities of
colonizing the moon.
One step further is this projected permanently inhabited moon station, designed by the ESA.
(click to enlarge - ESA rules must be obeyed)
Heinkel He 177 V38, KM+TB seen from front. The long bomb bay is evident.
Soon the small settlements will grow into entire cities on the moon. Buildings and
streets will be brightly lit - and visible from Earth - so that work can continue during
the long moon nights.
(click to enlarge - SpaceNation rules must be obeyed)
The first, still small, stations will soon be built. These will grow as
the moon becomes a base for science and a profitable mining site
for minerals. Small stations will grow into settlements and then into
moon cities.
These will be connected by a network of highways and a railroad
system. Spaceports on the moon will ensure the constant
transportation of personnel and goods for a lively space flight traffic.
At some point, the moon will serve as a stopover for flights into the
solar system, first to Mars, then onwards.
Starting with a small station that is not permanently inhabited, NASA plans
to begin its lunar program.
(click to enlarge - NASA rules must be obeyed)
This future infrastructure will have to be illuminated at night, just like
on Earth. At first only with binoculars, later with the naked eye, the
lights of the settlements on the moon will be visible.
For hundreds of thousands of years, the moon has always shown
us the same picture - this will soon be over and we should take
another good look at the "old moon".
Private Opinion of Uwe W. Jack
