A Field Trip to the Moon: "A FIELD TRIP TO THE MOON
Harrison H. Schmitt
Summary
The last Apollo mission to the moon "Apollo 17" left Earth on December 7, 1972 to land near the southeastern edge of Mare Serenitatis in the Valley of Taurus-Littrow. For 75 hours, Gene Cernan and the author lived and worked in the valley, performing extensive geological studies of the volcanic rocks that partially fill the valley, the boulders that rolled into the valley from the surrounding mountains, and the meteor impact generated soils that cover the valley floor and walls. Successful exploration of Taurus-Littrow capped a six mission investigation of the materials and history of the moon. At the conclusion of these studies, science had gained a first order understanding of the evolution of the moon as a planet. Humankind had gained knowledge of new resources in the soils of the moon that may help solve many energy problems on Earth and help initiate the exploration and settlement of Mars. "
Sunday, August 22, 2004
VISION
The vision of LiTeRaTi, lunar branch:
A lunar colony established before the year 2030.
With a lunar colony, we mean a group of people; men, women and children; living on the moon, without need for supply of materials or technology from earth. Thus, all necessary goods are produced from lunar raw materials in factories on the moon.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rationale and motivation:
There are many potential uses for a Lunar workforce and infrastructure. Most things that anyone would like to use outside the gravity well of Earth would be cheaper if Lunar materials could be used. Of primary interest would be products that are heavy, but easy to manufacture. Production of goods such as hydrogen fuel, construction materials for earth orbit or deep space exploration are obvious candidates. On the other hand, services, such as tourist resort facilities and construction and support of observatories and other scientific activities, would be much cheaper with a life support infrastructure in place. The extraction of helium3 for use in fusion plants on Earth, or solar arrays beaming power down to Earth are much cited examples, but of no immediate interest as technical solotions are lacking. In exchange for work done by the colonists, Earth would provide goods and services that are easy to transport but difficult to manufacture, such as high tech goods, knowledge and entertainment.
But the most compelling argument for a self-supporting lunar colony is that it would be self-supporting. Thus, even if all space funding on Earth would for some reason be cut off, mankind would still have a bridgehead in space. When a lunar colony is able to sustain itself, human nature will ensure that it will also grow. Eventually, the next step outwards, towards Mars, moons of other planets, or the asteroids will perhaps be taken from the lunar surface rather than from within the protective atmosphere of earth.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Business strategy:
"Sell" a lunar colony – or rather convince enough governments and wealthy corporations to join forces in building the infrastructure of the colony.
To achieve this goal, two things are needed;
1) The capability to produce a colony on the moon. On the moon, everything needed for human life is present: energy and raw materials. Solar energy is abundant without an atmosphere to dissipate it, there are water reservoirs frozen at the pole, and all base elements needed for biological life are present, albeit some only in trace amounts in the soil. The technologies needed to extract crucial elements from lunar soil, and to establish an artificial ecosystem able to support humans exist today and have been tested in smaller scale(see Biosphere 2). It is our firm belief that sufficient knowledge does exist, but that co-ordination and proper funding is lacking. To gain "control" over this production capability, we need to establish good contacts with institutes and enterprises with necessary know-how and production capacity. Note that we are not striving to acquire companies or build an industrial empire - just to stimulate cooperation between independent companies by creating a common vision.
2) Commitment of enough funds: The cost will of course be enormous, and we do not believe that any government or corporation will be able to cover the entire cost. Thus, a large number of customers are needed. Since the idea is to create an infrastructure for the common good of society, the governments of the large industrial nations must stand for the major cost. But commercial investors and less developed countries are expected to contribute, in order to gain priority access to the facilities. What is needed is worldwide commitment, not to send someone to an exotic piece of rock in space to take samples and photos, but to produce the necessary infrastructure, making it possible for people to live in space - on the moon. LiTeRaTi will work towards raising the motivation for such an endeavour by gathering and distributing information about what will be needed to build the colony, by encouraging individuals and organisations working on relevant projects, and other activities to gain public support for lunar colonisation efforts.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Plan
Achieve credibility within the space community by publishing several papers on lunar base construction and strategy, and working with others with coincident interests. (1997-2002)
Break down the requirements for the lunar colony, starting with "indefinite survival of inhabitants", and eventually going into the technical detail needed for design specifications. (1997-2002)
Define the project and secure commitment and support from national funding agencies and industries, worldwide. (1999-2010)
Construction and successive immigration. (2010-2030)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Back to LiTeRaTi main index
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LiTeRaTi is a small company run in the spare time by
Niklas Järvstråt
Literat@algonet.se
Klövervägen 12
S-461 58 Trollhättan
SWEDEN
The vision of LiTeRaTi, lunar branch:
A lunar colony established before the year 2030.
With a lunar colony, we mean a group of people; men, women and children; living on the moon, without need for supply of materials or technology from earth. Thus, all necessary goods are produced from lunar raw materials in factories on the moon.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rationale and motivation:
There are many potential uses for a Lunar workforce and infrastructure. Most things that anyone would like to use outside the gravity well of Earth would be cheaper if Lunar materials could be used. Of primary interest would be products that are heavy, but easy to manufacture. Production of goods such as hydrogen fuel, construction materials for earth orbit or deep space exploration are obvious candidates. On the other hand, services, such as tourist resort facilities and construction and support of observatories and other scientific activities, would be much cheaper with a life support infrastructure in place. The extraction of helium3 for use in fusion plants on Earth, or solar arrays beaming power down to Earth are much cited examples, but of no immediate interest as technical solotions are lacking. In exchange for work done by the colonists, Earth would provide goods and services that are easy to transport but difficult to manufacture, such as high tech goods, knowledge and entertainment.
But the most compelling argument for a self-supporting lunar colony is that it would be self-supporting. Thus, even if all space funding on Earth would for some reason be cut off, mankind would still have a bridgehead in space. When a lunar colony is able to sustain itself, human nature will ensure that it will also grow. Eventually, the next step outwards, towards Mars, moons of other planets, or the asteroids will perhaps be taken from the lunar surface rather than from within the protective atmosphere of earth.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Business strategy:
"Sell" a lunar colony – or rather convince enough governments and wealthy corporations to join forces in building the infrastructure of the colony.
To achieve this goal, two things are needed;
1) The capability to produce a colony on the moon. On the moon, everything needed for human life is present: energy and raw materials. Solar energy is abundant without an atmosphere to dissipate it, there are water reservoirs frozen at the pole, and all base elements needed for biological life are present, albeit some only in trace amounts in the soil. The technologies needed to extract crucial elements from lunar soil, and to establish an artificial ecosystem able to support humans exist today and have been tested in smaller scale(see Biosphere 2). It is our firm belief that sufficient knowledge does exist, but that co-ordination and proper funding is lacking. To gain "control" over this production capability, we need to establish good contacts with institutes and enterprises with necessary know-how and production capacity. Note that we are not striving to acquire companies or build an industrial empire - just to stimulate cooperation between independent companies by creating a common vision.
2) Commitment of enough funds: The cost will of course be enormous, and we do not believe that any government or corporation will be able to cover the entire cost. Thus, a large number of customers are needed. Since the idea is to create an infrastructure for the common good of society, the governments of the large industrial nations must stand for the major cost. But commercial investors and less developed countries are expected to contribute, in order to gain priority access to the facilities. What is needed is worldwide commitment, not to send someone to an exotic piece of rock in space to take samples and photos, but to produce the necessary infrastructure, making it possible for people to live in space - on the moon. LiTeRaTi will work towards raising the motivation for such an endeavour by gathering and distributing information about what will be needed to build the colony, by encouraging individuals and organisations working on relevant projects, and other activities to gain public support for lunar colonisation efforts.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Plan
Achieve credibility within the space community by publishing several papers on lunar base construction and strategy, and working with others with coincident interests. (1997-2002)
Break down the requirements for the lunar colony, starting with "indefinite survival of inhabitants", and eventually going into the technical detail needed for design specifications. (1997-2002)
Define the project and secure commitment and support from national funding agencies and industries, worldwide. (1999-2010)
Construction and successive immigration. (2010-2030)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Back to LiTeRaTi main index
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LiTeRaTi is a small company run in the spare time by
Niklas Järvstråt
Literat@algonet.se
Klövervägen 12
S-461 58 Trollhättan
SWEDEN
Saturday, August 14, 2004
The trip to Thailand was interesting and enlightening.
We had about 250 kids and adults from the Thai temples in Washington DC, New York, Chicago and our San Francisco area. We went to a number of temples, schools, government houses, Channel 5 TV, where the kids performed what they had learned of Thai dances and music. Often the kids from Thailand would reciprocate with their performance. Listen to political speeches in Thai with our American Thai audience buzzing on with their own talk. Was as a bit disappointed at our conduct.
We had six big busses (3 Navy, 3 Army) with police escort. We had onboard the busses some Thai college students that have been to the US teaching Thai language, dance, and music to the kids here at the Thai Fremont CA temple so the folks on the bus knew them.
I had fun trying to read the road signs in Thai before reading them in English.
We also went to Southern Thailand to Phuket, Krabie, Jame Born 007 island. Boat tours where kids got to go swimming in lagoon with pretty fishes swimming around. (they threw food in the water too) I wondered where the sharks were.
We went from Bangkok down to Sattahip deep water port and got to go on their aircraft carrier. Fun riding up on aircraft elevator lift. The ship has Harrier aircraft and the runway bow sloop up in a curve. Not what one is used to for American carriers. The Spanish made the ship for them.
We had a final goodbye party on a Thai Naval Officers secluded beach. Kids got to row over in long boats. We had some relatives there and road around the bay in 4 wheel drive vehicle. Rough road to get to the beach by land.
Spent the last week at our place in Bon Chang about 12 kilometers away. (The Eastern Star Resort wraps three sides of my six acre field.) Houses a couple of klicks to the East.
DID NOTHING. Which is something I don't know how to do. Watched the road crew dig up our street and four side streets. All week long. Back hoe, grader, roller packer. Dirt in, dirt out, grade, pack, dig up, bring in more dirt, grade, pack, etc. Sangad and daughter, granddaughter remained 10 more days.
Hope I get a report that we finally get some asphalt by the time she comes home on the 19th. :-)
Had breakfast made for me by one of our neighbors that lives in one or our houses. Brought me the Bangkok Post and read it from front to back and back to front. Wrote notes in a notebook and will have to see if I can read them and make any sense out of the strange ideas that floated into my thoughts not having the noise of everyday USA rush intruding.
Was different and will probably affect where we go from here. There is more out there than just my own little world. If I am to look into going to space, I will have to be able to look at the larger picture and hence include what is going on in the whole World to see what will help support the idea of developing a space frontier.
At least that is what seemed to be playing in my mind there in Thailand.
Will see how long it stays above the event horizon in my short span of attention. :-)
Larry
We had about 250 kids and adults from the Thai temples in Washington DC, New York, Chicago and our San Francisco area. We went to a number of temples, schools, government houses, Channel 5 TV, where the kids performed what they had learned of Thai dances and music. Often the kids from Thailand would reciprocate with their performance. Listen to political speeches in Thai with our American Thai audience buzzing on with their own talk. Was as a bit disappointed at our conduct.
We had six big busses (3 Navy, 3 Army) with police escort. We had onboard the busses some Thai college students that have been to the US teaching Thai language, dance, and music to the kids here at the Thai Fremont CA temple so the folks on the bus knew them.
I had fun trying to read the road signs in Thai before reading them in English.
We also went to Southern Thailand to Phuket, Krabie, Jame Born 007 island. Boat tours where kids got to go swimming in lagoon with pretty fishes swimming around. (they threw food in the water too) I wondered where the sharks were.
We went from Bangkok down to Sattahip deep water port and got to go on their aircraft carrier. Fun riding up on aircraft elevator lift. The ship has Harrier aircraft and the runway bow sloop up in a curve. Not what one is used to for American carriers. The Spanish made the ship for them.
We had a final goodbye party on a Thai Naval Officers secluded beach. Kids got to row over in long boats. We had some relatives there and road around the bay in 4 wheel drive vehicle. Rough road to get to the beach by land.
Spent the last week at our place in Bon Chang about 12 kilometers away. (The Eastern Star Resort wraps three sides of my six acre field.) Houses a couple of klicks to the East.
DID NOTHING. Which is something I don't know how to do. Watched the road crew dig up our street and four side streets. All week long. Back hoe, grader, roller packer. Dirt in, dirt out, grade, pack, dig up, bring in more dirt, grade, pack, etc. Sangad and daughter, granddaughter remained 10 more days.
Hope I get a report that we finally get some asphalt by the time she comes home on the 19th. :-)
Had breakfast made for me by one of our neighbors that lives in one or our houses. Brought me the Bangkok Post and read it from front to back and back to front. Wrote notes in a notebook and will have to see if I can read them and make any sense out of the strange ideas that floated into my thoughts not having the noise of everyday USA rush intruding.
Was different and will probably affect where we go from here. There is more out there than just my own little world. If I am to look into going to space, I will have to be able to look at the larger picture and hence include what is going on in the whole World to see what will help support the idea of developing a space frontier.
At least that is what seemed to be playing in my mind there in Thailand.
Will see how long it stays above the event horizon in my short span of attention. :-)
Larry
August 14 watching CNN Presents, Is Anybody out there?
Good summary of where we are with our Astrobiology quest for is there life out there.
Related topic on the web at CNN.com Space & Science, "Digging for life in the deadest desert"
-----
Digging for life in the deadest desert
Driest spot on Earth may hold clues to Mars
By Michael CorenCNN
Thursday, August 5, 2004 Posted: 9:20 PM EDT (0120 GMT)
Long ago, this core region of the Atacama mysteriously dried and then died out (above). Scientists say something similar happened on Mars (below).
Gallery: The driest place on Earth
• Map: The Atacama Desert
• Behind the Scenes: Miles O'Brien, space correspondent reporting from planet Earth
• Life in the Atacama Project
ON CNN TV
Scientists searching for life in the universe believe they are on the verge of a major breakthrough. Watch 'Is anybody out there?' Sunday 8 p.m. ET on CNN.
• CNN Presents
---
Good summary of where we are with our Astrobiology quest for is there life out there.
Related topic on the web at CNN.com Space & Science, "Digging for life in the deadest desert"
-----
Digging for life in the deadest desert
Driest spot on Earth may hold clues to Mars
By Michael CorenCNN
Thursday, August 5, 2004 Posted: 9:20 PM EDT (0120 GMT)
Long ago, this core region of the Atacama mysteriously dried and then died out (above). Scientists say something similar happened on Mars (below).
Gallery: The driest place on Earth
• Map: The Atacama Desert
• Behind the Scenes: Miles O'Brien, space correspondent reporting from planet Earth
• Life in the Atacama Project
ON CNN TV
Scientists searching for life in the universe believe they are on the verge of a major breakthrough. Watch 'Is anybody out there?' Sunday 8 p.m. ET on CNN.
• CNN Presents
---
Politics and going to Space with humans -
Back from Thailand. Normally I have just posted clips from Internet links that relate to Space. Since blog sites are for expressing ideas and opinions I will pass some thoughts and feel free to contact me if I strike a chord.
While in a five star hotel in Bangkok Thailand I could read "the Nation", a local news paper in English. I could also go to McDonalds, KFC, Shakey's Pizza, and Starbucks not far from the hotel.
While reading the newspaper I could hear about the Internet worms and viruses and even GOOGLE being slowed by infected computers searching for more names to hammer. (hence the 1000 e-mails I had to delete from my two PC's at home.)
What really struck me though was reading about the local problems with contracts and graft, and then reading about similar Enron type activities about the global enterprises. It seems that wherever you find big business you find a good chance for greed and self interest.
I began to wonder just how we will finance going back to Moon with the idea of really establishing a human presence in space and so I will continue to read papers, magazines like the "Economist" and see if I can get a better understanding of what is going on around this "Blue Marble".
There needs to be a unifying, gut wrenching desire, to go space and develop this new frontier.
Larry Russell Kellogg
Back from Thailand. Normally I have just posted clips from Internet links that relate to Space. Since blog sites are for expressing ideas and opinions I will pass some thoughts and feel free to contact me if I strike a chord.
While in a five star hotel in Bangkok Thailand I could read "the Nation", a local news paper in English. I could also go to McDonalds, KFC, Shakey's Pizza, and Starbucks not far from the hotel.
While reading the newspaper I could hear about the Internet worms and viruses and even GOOGLE being slowed by infected computers searching for more names to hammer. (hence the 1000 e-mails I had to delete from my two PC's at home.)
What really struck me though was reading about the local problems with contracts and graft, and then reading about similar Enron type activities about the global enterprises. It seems that wherever you find big business you find a good chance for greed and self interest.
I began to wonder just how we will finance going back to Moon with the idea of really establishing a human presence in space and so I will continue to read papers, magazines like the "Economist" and see if I can get a better understanding of what is going on around this "Blue Marble".
There needs to be a unifying, gut wrenching desire, to go space and develop this new frontier.
Larry Russell Kellogg
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