Mission: Moon

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Mission Moon!
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By 2018 humans will be living and working on the
Moon at a lunar outpost!
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What is it like on the Moon?
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What is it like on the Moon?

• Length of Day
• Atmosphere
• Temperature
• Water
• Radiation
• Gravity
• Landscape

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Long Days and Long Nights

• The Moon spins on its axis rotates once every
  27 days
• Earth rotates once every 24 hours
• The Moons rotation means its day is almost two
  weeks long and then its dark for two weeks!

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Nothing to Breathe

• The Moon does not have an atmosphere
• Atmospheres are important because they protect us
  from harmful solar radiation and help to keep
  temperatures

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Really Hot and Really Cold

• The Moons temperatures range from 107 C in the
  sunlight to 153 C in the shade or darkness
  (thats 224 F to 243 F below freezing!)
• The temperature changes so much because there is
  no atmosphere to moderate it.
• Extreme changes are bad for equipment.

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Water?

• There is no liquid water on the Moon.
• There may be frozen water ice in deep craters
  near the poles.

Oh no.
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Sunscreen, Anyone?

• Solar radiation levels on the Moons surface are
  dangerously high because there is no atmosphere
  to block incoming radiation.

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High Jump!

• The Moon is smaller than Earth, but because it
  has mass, it DOES HAVE GRAVITY!
• The Moons gravity is 1/6 of Earths.
• Because there is less pull on you, you will
  weigh less and jump higher on the Moon!

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Dusty!

• The Moons rocks have been pulverized into a fine
  powder by continuous asteroid impacts.
• This regolith layer can be 45 feet thick!

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Lunar Landscape
Bright, heavily cratered, Lunar Highlands
terrae. Mostly plagioclase rocks that are about
four and a half billion years old! Dark, smooth
Lunar Lowlands maria (mar-e-uh). Made of 3 to
4 billion year old basalt the same rock type as
Earths ocean floor and the Hawaii volcanos.
Lunar Regolith covers much of the surface.
Lunar Highlands
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What will we need to live on the Moon?
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What will we need to live on the Moon?

• Shelter
• Power
• Food
• Water
• Earth communications
• Tools / equipment
• Ways to move around

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Shelter

• A lunar outpost is needed for long stays to
  maintain an atmosphere and protect us from
  temperature extremes space suits protect us
  outside the base.
• It will be built with materials transported from
  Earth (costly!) but we can use lunar resources
  Moon to help (titanium, regolith for lunar
  bricks!).
• A natural shelter can be found in the lava tubes
  in ancient volcanic areas.

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Power

• Fuel is expensive to transport from Earth
• Solar power can be used to run an outpost.
• Solar power will have to be stored in costly
  batteries for long periods of darkness, unless
  the base is in a permanently sunny region.

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Food

• Food will be transported from Earth. Eventually,
  hydroponic gardens will be created to provide
  food for the outpost.

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Water

• Liquid water does not exist on the Moons
  surface.
• Water ice may exist in deep, permanently shadowed
  craters at the poles.
• All humans need water to drink. Water also can be
  broken into hydrogen and oxygen and used as a
  fuel or to create an atmosphere at the enclosed
  base.

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Calling Home

• Earth is far away about 240,000 miles away!
• We will need to communicate about outpost
  operations and the health of the astronauts, and
  we will want to stay in touch with Earth friends,
  too!
• The outpost will have to be in constant view of
  Earth to maintain communications. If the outpost
  is not in view, costly satellite systems will
  have to be put in place.

Note Astronauts Do Not Use Telephones!
Communications travel by radio waves, part of the
electromagnetic spectrum!
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Tools and Equipment

• We will need to transport tools and equipment to
  the lunar outpost to build the base and conduct
  scientific experiments.

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Roving the Surface

• We will need ways to move around the surface as
  we build the outpost, search for resources, and
  conduct scientific experiments.

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Apollo 15 Landing Site
Topography
A lunar outpost will have to be built in a safe,
relatively flat location that is easy to reach on
foot or by Moon buggy.
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Other Considerations

• What science can we do? Depending on where we
  go, we can learn different things about how the
  Moon formed and has changed. We can set up
  telescopes
• to monitor Earth
• or to look deep
• into space.

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When we select a lunar outpost site, we need to
consider all of these things!

• Shelter
• Power
• Food
• Water
• Earth communications
• Tools / equipment
• Ways to move around

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Were Going to the Moon Again!

• The Apollo missions helped us learn much about
  the Moon, but the missions were short and in only
  a few places.

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Were Going to the Moon Again!

• By 2018, we will have a permanent lunar outpost
  on the Moon that will permit people to live and
  work there for long periods of time.
• How old will you be? Do you want to go?

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Were Going to the Moon Again!

• This will help us prepare for exploration of Mars
  and beyond by helping us create the technology
  needed to support space flight and habitation,
  and helping us understand the impact of space on
  the human body.

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The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Mission Will
Help!
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The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Mission Will
Help!

• LRO spacecraft launches in Fall 2008
• It will orbit the Moon for a year, collecting
  data to
• Characterize solar radiation on the lunar surface
  and how it might impact humans and materials
• Make a high resolution global, 3-D map of the
  Moons surface so we can select landing sites
• Make very detailed maps of the Moons resources
  and the Moons polar regions to see if water ice
  is present.

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• Mission Moon!
• Just like NASA teams of scientists and engineers,
  you and your team will propose a site for a
  future lunar outpost and debate why it should be
  chosen.
• Your Mission
• Review the data for the different possible lunar
  outpost sites
• Select the site that has the fewest risks and
  most benefits in your view