NASA wants self-sustaining moon base by 2024

Stan Beer
Wednesday, 06 December 2006 08:39

Science - Space

Could mankind establish a colony on the moon and then later on other planets? If US space agency NASA has anything to say about it, 18 years from now that's exactly what will happen.

According to NASA, plans are already in place to make the first lunar landing by 2020, 48 years after the Apollo program ceased. That will be followed by the establishment of a permanent lunar base by 2024, where astronauts would live periods for as long as six months.

The stated aim is to make the base as self-sustaining as possible. For that purpose, the plan is to set up the base near the southern lunar pole, which has long periods of sunlight which can be used to generate electricity.

How exactly the lunar station can expect to be self sustaining is still a little vague. However, NASA believes that there is a possibility that region around the south pole may contain some key elements that could be used in life sustaining processes. In particular, there is some evidence that there may be ice and, thus water, to be found in deep craters.

Without the presence of water in some form, the lunar base would be entirely dependent upon supplies from earth.

The establishment of the moon base is meant to serve as a beach head for further manned space exploration to Mars and beyond, with an international consortium of nations including the US, China, Russia and EU countries taking part in the estimated US$100 billion enterprise.