Moon Base Alpha
"We can be sure that those who come after us will think of much better ways of doing these things - and will wonder at our conservatism and our quaint, old-fashioned ideas. And they in their turn will be laughed at by those who come after them, when the Moon is only a suburb of the Earth, and the real frontier is far away among the planets. . ." 

-Arthur C. Clarke


What will the first lunar base actually look like?  No one knows yet but many have been designed.  In the 1950's and 1960's many designs were put forth by scientists and engineers who hoped that by the next century a lunar base would be fully operational.  In 1992 the FLO design, the First Lunar Outpost reference mission was developed (and rejected) by NASA.  Igloos, railroads, buses, ecospheres, domes, all have been proposed.  Inflatable structures, underground structures, structures at the South Pole, space ports at lunar libration points have all been designed. Hotels, laboratories, observatories, sports arenas, mining and manufacturing plants are all very real possibilities.  What would a lunar base that you designed look like?

What types of power will be used on the moon?  Solar?  Nuclear? Fission reactors?  Fusion reactors? Lasar beamed electricity?  What kinds of fuel will be developed for rockets making the journey?  Aluminum?  Oxygen?  Hydrogen? Solar sails? These are just a few of the questions that remain unanswered though engineers are currently hard at work looking at ways to answer them.  Perhaps you will be the engineer that finally designs Moon Base Alpha.

NASA design for a solar powered lunar base		 What kinds of life support systems will need to be developed for life on other worlds?  Water and air and waste recylcing are all major concerns.  For a NASA tutorial on regenerative life support systems for the moon visit the space settlement course, Regenerative Life Support for the Moon.
To look at various types of energy systems currently in development for the moon visit some of the sites below.  Start to plan your very own lunar base.  This will be your assignment for this lesson, take lots of notes and choose the systems and techniques you think will work the best. You will need to describe the location, structures, life support systems and power supply. 
An alternative power source for the lunar night is to illuminate the solar arrays with laser power beamed from Earth.

Historic Lunar Base Designs

Early designs for bases included a design by Arthur C. Clarke, the science fiction writer, published in 1954.  Igloo-shaped habitats were covered with dust for insulation and an inflatable radio mast was used for maintaining contact with crews in the field. Power was supplied by a nuclear reactor. The colonists farmed using hydroponic techniques and electric monorails connected their habitats, mining facilities, and telescopes. (Clarke's 1955 spy novel "Earthlight" is based on his plans.)  For more about this design visit David Portree's Romance to Reality site. 

In 1953 the German rocket scientist Herman Oberth designed a caterpillar-like 'moon car' that would be able to cross chasms by jumping 125 meters!

A 1962 design for a lunar base		 In 1962 a lunar base study by John DeNike and Stanley Zahn was published in Aerospace Engineering. Their chosen location was a flat region on the moon that included the Sea of Tranquility (the Apollo 11 landing site).
Their base housed 21 crew members and wase located in tunnels dug into the ground or buried under lunar soil for radiation protection.  The base had 30 habitat modules and was 1300 square metersin size. There were seven living areas, eight operations areas, and 15 logistics areas. It was built in one year and was powered by nuclear reactors.  Some solar power system were designed but were considered unreliable.

For more about this design visit David Portree's romance to Reality site.
In 1963, William Sims proposed an "Architecture of the Lunar Base," in the the Proceedings of the (13th) Lunar and Planetary Exploration Colloquium. His design was also buried beneath the lunar regolith. 
A 1964 design for an above ground lunar base by the Boeing Corporation
The site he chose was located between Agrippa crater and Sinus Medii and it included nuclear reactors for power, a landing field for spacecraft and the habitat located inside the wall of an impact crater. The habitat was three stories high and had offices, workshops, labs, living areas and a farm.  Windows in the ceilings of the top floor were insulated with water tanks for radiation protection. Sunlight was reflected into the habitat and throughout the facility and farm areas.  For more about this design visit David Portree's romance to Reality site.

An 1966 artist's concept shows a "lunar supply vehicle" with a  window at one end. The supply vehicle, which is about 35 feet long crawls like a caterpillar. 		 In 1966, Philip Culbertson wrote in Astronautica Acta, an article "Lunar Base Concepts and Operational Modes."  This journal issue included many lunar base designs.  Culbertson was then the director of the Advanced Manned Lunar Mission Studies Office at NASA Headquarters.
His plan was to launch four Saturn V rockets each year over four years.  Rotating three-person crews set up basic habitat modules, nuclear power facilities, and fuel modules.  Eventually the crew was increased to 12 at the ned of the build up period.

1966 design for a lunar lander and habitat		 Culbertson used the Apollo Command Module and Lunar Module to send crews to the moon. After the crew of 12 was reached, a new lunar lander would be designed. An electric rover was used to make traverses across the moon and 1-2 person flying units allowed crews to reach difficult areas. For more about this design visit David Portree's romance to Reality site.  Build a model of the Apollo Comand Module or Lunar Lander.
In the same issue of Astronautica Acta, Paul D. Lowman controbuted the article "Lunar Resources: Their Value in Lunar and Planetary Exploration." He considered lunar resources extremely important in the development of moon bases.  He discusses the uses of solar energy, water, sulfur, oxygen, and basalt. He recommends subsurface mining and the manufacturing of rocket fuel on the moon to reduce the cost of the missions. For more details about this article visit David Portree's romance to Reality site.
In 1968 MOONLAB, "A Study of the Stanford-Ames Summer Faculty Workshop in Engineering Systems Design," was proposed by Jack LaPatra and Robert Wilson.  This study propsed a moon base for the purposes of a lunar observatory.
Moonlab base
The base was located in the deep crater Grimaldi close to the lunar equator.  Grimaldi has a flat floor and is 150 kilometers across thus providing a clear view of the horizon. The MOONLAB program began with the first Apollo moon landing.  By 1976 a rotating 3-person crew would live in the first habitat for 3 months at a time.  The habitat had three stories, the top floor would be used for storage and provide radiation protection for the crew as it was buried under several feet of lunar regolith. 

The main focus of this lunar base was the science program including astronomical research.  Eventually the crew would increase to six with the addition of more habitats. By 1981 crews would live on the moon for a year at a time.  By 1982 farms would be built.  The farms would house plants grown in lunar soil and be designed to produce 75 percent of the food needed by the crew.  A 40-inch telescope was brought to the moon in 1984. The final population of the base was 24, eight of whom worked in the astronomical observatory.  37 launches completed MOONLAB and no lunar resources were used except for the soil for shielding.

1971 Design for a Boeing Lunar-Orbit Space Station		 276,000 kilograms of materials would be transported to the moon with a price tag of over $17 billion dollars.  For more about the MOONLAB project visit David Portree's romance to Reality site.

 

Design Baselines

The objective of many early lunar bases was to get material into orbit so that products and services could be sold to support outer space development. Some studies had the lunar base making components on the surface of the Moon and blasting them up into space. 
Surface manufacturing capabilities for the purpose of building up a lunar base using in situ materials is a more efficient technique and could be used to make steel and glass-ceramic structural items. 
A mobile solar reflector oven could make the landing/launch pad, road surfaces, dome roofs, etc. Most of a lunar base, in terms of weight, will probably produced on-site from local materials, not blasted up from Earth, achieving the same goals for far less cost.

A lunar base will need a landing/launch pad, a power plant (perhaps a solar cell array for daytime "peak" energy and a small nuclear power plant for night time), base construction equipment, a spare parts and maintenance garage, a central control and communications center, housing for the people on-site, and life support systems. 
To be constructed it will also need mining and manufacturing equipment such as flailers or front end loaders and haulers, and a solar oven to be used in materials processing.
Lunar bases can be characterized by the following five design terms. Your lunar base will need to include a description for each area listed below.

Location

  • Base site, environmental condition adaptations: 1/6 gravity, vacuum, lunar dust/regolith, solar winds, cosmic radiation, temperature extremes, fortnightly day/night cycle, etc.
Architecture
  • Buildings, machines, roads, industries, laboratories, observatories, equipment, rovers, etc.
Personnel
  • Quantity; rotation; mix; ages; medical concerns; psychological needs; etc.
Activities
  • Life support, astronomy, lunar science/geology, manufacturing, power systems, communications, transportation, etc.
Governance
  • Government, management, capitalization, funding, policies, etc.

Visit the Romance to Reality site to get many more ideas for lunar bases from designs from the 1950's to the 1990's. Visit the Lunar Geology site of the Lunar Prospector to consider scientific endeavors. Check out the Space Settlements Design page for ideas about colony structure.

Next... Lunar Base Designs