The Trib wrote:
An international team of astronauts will be living and working at a permanent moon base to be built at one of the resource-rich lunar poles within two decades, NASA announced Monday.
Earth's first off-world colonists will cruise the surface in a new-generation lunar lander that will function like a low-gravity "pickup truck," possibly journeying to the dark side to build the most ambitious collection of observatories ever constructed, NASA said.
[...]
In choosing to locate the moon base at either the north or south pole, NASA was persuaded by three factors. One, the sites are relatively unexplored. Two, temperatures are more moderate there than in the searing heat of the equatorial bright side and the numbing cold of the dark side. Lastly, previous NASA moon missions detected the presence of unusual amounts of hydrogen at both poles.
Some scientists have speculated this could be traced to hidden ice deposits, a potential source of water for colonists.
Officials said the area around the south pole has craters that most likely hold volatile gases that could be collected for commercial purposes. Highest on the list of possible targets is helium-3, a form of the gas seldom found on Earth but possibly well-suited as a nuclear power fuel.
Earth's first off-world colonists will cruise the surface in a new-generation lunar lander that will function like a low-gravity "pickup truck," possibly journeying to the dark side to build the most ambitious collection of observatories ever constructed, NASA said.
[...]
In choosing to locate the moon base at either the north or south pole, NASA was persuaded by three factors. One, the sites are relatively unexplored. Two, temperatures are more moderate there than in the searing heat of the equatorial bright side and the numbing cold of the dark side. Lastly, previous NASA moon missions detected the presence of unusual amounts of hydrogen at both poles.
Some scientists have speculated this could be traced to hidden ice deposits, a potential source of water for colonists.
Officials said the area around the south pole has craters that most likely hold volatile gases that could be collected for commercial purposes. Highest on the list of possible targets is helium-3, a form of the gas seldom found on Earth but possibly well-suited as a nuclear power fuel.
If the opportunity came up to live in a lunar colony came up, would you? Imagine a Haliburton* mining colony collecting helium-3 for shipment home and hiring on people for two year contracts for various labor, scientific or administrative roles. Ignoring any spouses or children you may have, how much would you want for that? Would any amount suffice? Or are you the sort who'd wake up extra early to be first in line? If you did have immediate family and it was possible, would you want them to come with?
Soon to be renamed Weyland-Yutani