Artwork done for NASA by Pat Rawlings, of SAIC.

At this very moment there are people making plans for the human colonization of other worlds. Oh we are going to start out small, our first step is slated to be a base on the moon. Technically the term "other worlds" is usually thought of as other planets, but there are many places out there that are not planets that might be even more habitable than planets. Even some of the planets in our solar system like Jupiter and Saturn have so many moons that they are like miniature solar systems with the planets being at the center and the moons zipping around them. Some of these places might not be Earth like,but they may still present a situation where life could be sustained. For example a watery moon might still enable us to build a floating platform where scientists could stay for awhile to study the seas or maybe an underwater habitat would be appropriate?

NASA gathered answers form 1,000 scientists and engineers on the question of why we should build a base on the moon first and here is what they said:
1. To extend the human presence for eventual settlement.
2. To gain scientific knowledge.
3. To test systems that will be used to explore other worlds.
4. To build global partnerships.
5. To expand Earth's economic sphere
6. To get the public interested in the challenges of tomorrow.

Graphic Source: NASA

These reasons look pretty good to me. We are going to need to start somewhere and the moon seems to be the right place. It is pretty close to the Earth making it much easier to travel back and forth from. We can get there in just a couple of days. Not only can the moon be a sort of test bed for our equipment, it has a lot of minerals and it may be profitable to do mining. This will have the indirect consequences of having to build huge ships to cart the ore back to Earth. It will be interesting to see how they would land such giant ships. Let's face it. The ships will have to hold a lot to make the trip profitable. This might also lead to better ships as the technology is being perfected. To See NASA's complete list of Lunar objectives in pdf format CLICK HERE*.

Have you ever seen any of the photos of the moon that are purported to show alien bases? If we are planning to set up a base on the moon, apparently the government doesn't believe that there are aliens there or has made a deal with them. It is much more logical that the government doesn't hold much truck with the alien base theory. Scientists claim that if the moon base is built near the poles then there will be enough sun light to power the solar cells that will supply electricity to the station. The moon also makes an excellent place to build a craft to travel to the planets. First of all, it won't have to overcome the gravity of Earth during launches. This means a lot because our current rocket technology requires a lot of fuel for that task. Second, there are enough resources on the moon to do just about anything. NASA is considering the Shackelton Crater at the south pole as a location for the base. This area is in permanent sunlight and is next to an area that is in permanent darkness.

Camping out in the cosmos. NASA artwork by Pat Rawlings / SAIC

Time projections are being made by NASA that would establish the base by 2024. If this plan goes like all the others, we will be lucky to see a base by 2040. Four person crews are being planned to man the base. It is said that they will have short stays at the base. I would imagine it would be something like the international space station crews. We are not just going to send men back to the moon. There will be some robotic missions conducted first. A reconnaissance orbiter is scheduled to be launched in 2008 . It will look for good landing sites along with water and resources.

The moon base plan ran into trouble the second it was announced. It was denounced by some lawmakers as being too expensive and grandiose. With all the money we waste on bridges to nowhere and pork barrel projects, you would think that something like this would sail through congress, but there is always more than meets the eye. The plan sounds great on the surface, but the details of who the contractors will be, will have to be examined. The last thing this country needs is some plan that is just a vehicle to dump billions of dollars into the hands of contractors.

In 1959 there was a seven year plan to build a military base on the moon. I have asked the question for a couple of years now, do we already have an Air Force base there and is this just the civilian showcase? The original plan was Project Horizon. It would have required almost 150 Saturn rocket launches. All this to build a 12 man base. Moon base plans have been drawn up, over and over for almost 60 years. In 1972 NASA was bringing people together to plan a moon base. This base was going to be able to support up to 180 people. The idea of this large base was to maintain solar reflectors that would beam free energy back to Earth. Anyone think that the oil companies were going to allow this? One plan was to use solar panels to power a launcher that would shoot ore into space into a orbiting factory. Some of the plans were just plain crazy. Another plan was the exact opposite of the plan to beam energy to Earth, it called for sending power to the moon from Earth with a laser. It was thought that this might be a good way to power a station during the lunar night. Some of these plans were cost assessed at about $400 billion dollars.

Today a new plan is envisioned, one that calls for 3 or 4 launches. An inflatable Lunar base, consisting of a two story structure, would serve as a home to the crews who are scheduled to stay there for 45 day tours. The building has high ceilings to allow for the minimal gravity and prevent people bumping their heads.

Will we actually be the first to put a base on the moon or will some other country beat us to the punch. A country like Russia, China or India might just be working on building a base without our knowledge. Well in any event, this will make a good first step for mankind. One last thing, there are people that have bought land on the moon from several companies. I hope that they don't think that they are going to get rent from NASA? NASA has stated "Property rights on the moon are governed by the United Nations. Those are all just frauds.". You wasted your money folks.

*If you need a reader for this file type you can download it from the link in the box at the top of the page.