Living on the Moon

Some time, very likely within the lifetimes of most people reading this, people will live on the Moon. At first, the lunar settlers will be scientists, uncovering the geological and geophysical secrets of the Moon, and perhaps operating an astronautical observatory on the far side of the Moon. Later, the scientists will be joined by businessmen and entrepreneurs, mining the Moon for its resources and building and operating solar power stations that will beam the sun's energy back to Earth. Finally, the Moon will be visited be tourists, visiting a hot, new destination that, for most of human history, has been beyond the reach of human beings.The Moon is a most inhospitable place. It has no atmosphere to speak of. Most places on the Moon are so arid that it makes the hottest desert on Earth seem garden-like by comparison. Temperatures can reach 123 degrees centigrade in the day and minus 233 degrees centigrade at night. A person standing unprotected on the surface of the Moon would die almost instantly.In order to live on the Moon, future lunar settlers will need oxygen, water, food, power, and building materials. As it turns out, most of these can be either gotten or produced on the Moon with a minimal need for imports from Earth.

Lunar Oxygen

Lunar soil is a mixture of a number of materials, nearly all of which contain oxygen, at about 45 percent. Ilmenite is one of the most common lunar minerals. It is a mixture of iron, titanium, and oxygen. In order to extract the oxygen one would develop a plant, usually called a LUNOX plant, to process the lunar soil using a combination of heat and chemical processes. Not only will the oxygen be extracted, but other useful materials such as titanium, iron, and silicon. Oxygen will not only be useful for breathing, but also for producing rocket fuel. Other components that make up a breathable atmosphere, such as nitrogen and carbon, have not yet been discovered on the Moon. Some scientists believe that such might exist in deep pockets underneath the lunar surface. However, in the near term, these elements will likely have to be imported from Earth. 

Lunar Water