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Image credit: ESA/Foster + Partners
Image credit: ESA/Foster + Partners
The second episode of the weekly web series TWIST—This
Week in Science and Technology, with my pal Dr. Carin Bondar—is now
online. Carin talks coral reefs and genetic circuits, while I wax
lyrical about colonizing the Moon. My part starts at 1:17, but you
should watch the whole thing.
There’s a lot of discussion among space exploration advocates about
what we should do next as far as a big goal in space. Go to the Moon, go
to Mars, visit an asteroid? I like all these ideas, but I think the
best way to go is to head to the Moon. It’s close by, we know how to get
there, and we have some experience dealing with moving around on it.
Some folks argue that we’ve been there, done that, and there’s no
need to go back. I think that’s a bit naïve. For one thing, it’s not
like getting to and staying on the Moon is a walk in the park. Also, I
think that overestimates the public’s indifference. Sure, we went to the
Moon…40 years ago. The people we most need to excite about space travel are the ones who were born a decade after
Gene Cernan took his last lunar step. They don’t remember Apollo,
except as a section of the history book wedged in to the chapter about
Vietnam.
We’ll learn a lot by going to the Moon, if we go there to stay.
Building a habitat is one of the key features of this, including
learning how to use native materials for our own benefit. I’d rather we
learned that on the Moon than on Mars, where a backup supply ship is at
least six months away.
This idea of using automated 3D printers
to create construction materials is pretty solid, and very promising.
The astronauts who will live on the Moon in a decade or two are the ones
who are playing with Lego now. Seems like a natural extension to me.
posted by Pieface @ 9:51 AM
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