A City on the Moon?

[braymoore]

Could it ever be possible that we will be able to create a literal city on the moon? This includes houses, malls, businesses, parks, etc.
Also if this were to happen would the city be considered part of a specific country or would it be more like it's own nation?? Thoughts
and opinions.

 

[davidtaylorjr]

Could it ever be possible that we will be able to create a literal city on the moon? This includes houses, malls, businesses, parks, etc.
Also if this were to happen would the city be considered part of a specific country or would it be more like it's own nation?? Thoughts
and opinions.

It wouldn't be just like earth... HOWEVER, it is possible to have a city, it would just be a larger scale space station.

 

[Fisher]

It would be very expensive and wasteful. It would be far cheaper to just cull the human population. Besides, who would want to live in a place where every breath you took was somebody else's fart and every drink you drank used to be your annoying neighbor's pee?

 

[Unitedwestand13]

It would be very expensive and wasteful. It would be far cheaper to just cull the human population. Besides, who would want to live in a place where every breath you took was somebody else's fart and every drink you drank used to be your annoying neighbor's pee?

it's not like we can stay on earth forever and expect us to have the resources to support the growing population of people.

 

[clownboy]

Possible but not probable and largely useless and a waste of effort.

But hey, if you want to fantasize, read The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress. It's where the expression TANSTAAFL comes from.

 

[Fisher]

it's not like we can stay on earth forever and expect us to have the resources to support the growing population of people.

If you think the moon will be the rescue boat for humanity, I think you are kidding yourself. The moon will fly away from earth well before earth will be destroyed unless we get a moon sized meteor. In addition, the earth has an atmosphere that will protect against pea-sized debris wiping out your entire moon city when it shoots into a sensitive location. I am staying here. You are free to leave at any time

 

[Unitedwestand13]

If you think the moon will be the rescue boat for humanity, I think you are kidding yourself. The moon will fly away from earth well before earth will be destroyed unless we get a moon sized meteor. In addition, the earth has an atmosphere that will protect against pea-sized debris wiping out your entire moon city when it shoots into a sensitive location. I am staying here. You are free to leave at any time

what about researching ways to create livable conditions on other planets. like the abillity to terraform a planet like mars so it can become habitable?

 

[clownboy]

what about researching ways to create livable conditions on other planets. like the abillity to terraform a planet like mars so it can become habitable?

This is the problem with those silly and useless pronouncements about "earth-like" planets in the so-called Goldilocks zones. Leads people down the wrong path. One word explains why that isn't a probability - gravity. We are evolved to a specific and small gravity range. Anything outside that range, no matter how otherwise perfect for us is a species death trap.

The only answer is to roll our own planets/planetoids. The extra bonus there is that, having manufactured them ourselves, we'll know how they work. Something we've not been able to figure out with our present home.

 

[Morrigi]

An actual city on the Moon would be entirely impractical.

No atmosphere or magnetic field to block solar radiation would mean the entire thing would have to be underground.

The monthlong day/night cycle would mean that it would be impossible to grow plants which would mean that food would have to be imported from somewhere at great cost. The Moon also has soil almost entirely unsuitable for plant life anyway, meaning that even if plants could be grown the soil and fertilizer would also have to be imported.

The Moon is also generally resource-poor when it comes to useful elements and compounds. While there may be some ice, it is almost entirely if not totally lacking in carbon, nitrogen, and metal resources.


That said, Mars would be a far better choice. It has an atmosphere, it has surprisingly fertile soil, it has iron that can be extracted from the dirt itself, it has considerable reserves of ice and an instance was confirmed of briefly flowing water by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. With these resources, methane and other hydrocarbons could be made and thus opening the door to plastics manufacture. Plants could grow in domes with high Co2 content but relatively low pressure thanks to the Martian atmosphere and its very similar day/night cycle.

Furthermore, Mars is the only other body in the Solar System that has been shown to once have been home to large quantities of liquid water.

If we're going to build a city anywhere on another celestial body, Mars would be the most practical by far.

 

[What if...?]

It would be very expensive and wasteful. It would be far cheaper to just cull the human population. Besides, who would want to live in a place where every breath you took was somebody else's fart and every drink you drank used to be your annoying neighbor's pee?

It already IS that way.

Every drop of water you drink has come out of billions of assholes.

 

[Fisher]

It already IS that way.

Every drop of water you drink has come out of billions of assholes.

Nope. I melt glacier ice to drink so it has only come from a few million. You don't think AGW is really the reason those things are melting do you? I am a thirsty boy.

 

[What if...?]

An actual city on the Moon would be entirely impractical.

No atmosphere or magnetic field to block solar radiation would mean the entire thing would have to be underground.

The monthlong day/night cycle would mean that it would be impossible to grow plants which would mean that food would have to be imported from somewhere at great cost. The Moon also has soil almost entirely unsuitable for plant life anyway, meaning that even if plants could be grown the soil and fertilizer would also have to be imported.

The Moon is also generally resource-poor when it comes to useful elements and compounds. While there may be some ice, it is almost entirely if not totally lacking in carbon, nitrogen, and metal resources.


That said, Mars would be a far better choice. It has an atmosphere, it has surprisingly fertile soil, it has iron that can be extracted from the dirt itself, it has considerable reserves of ice and an instance was confirmed of briefly flowing water by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. With these resources, methane and other hydrocarbons could be made and thus opening the door to plastics manufacture. Plants could grow in domes with high Co2 content but relatively low pressure thanks to the Martian atmosphere and its very similar day/night cycle.

Furthermore, Mars is the only other body in the Solar System that has been shown to once have been home to large quantities of liquid water.

If we're going to build a city anywhere on another celestial body, Mars would be the most practical by far.

The moon is an excellent "stepping stone".

It has gravity, ameliorating the bone loss issue.

And the ice is air and fuel.

Never going to be a "home" to humankind, but would be a good place to "jump off" from as we learn how to live in space.

 

[braymoore]

It already IS that way.

Every drop of water you drink has come out of billions of assholes.

Don't know if that's true or not but I sure got a good laugh out of it.:lol:

 

[clownboy]

Nope. I melt glacier ice to drink so it has only come from a few million. You don't think AGW is really the reason those things are melting do you? I am a thirsty boy.

There was no specification as to human assholes.

 

[What if...?]

Don't know if that's true or not but I sure got a good laugh out of it.:lol:

It is, along with bits of farts from various animals making up part of the air we all breathe.

 

[Morrigi]

Too much radiation.

In addition, it actually takes more energy and thus fuel to reach the Moon than it does Mars due to the quirks of physics. Of course, Mars trips take longer but this could be mitigated by larger crews and artificial gravity created by centrifugal force.

tl;dr: Mars is actually easier to get to than the Moon in terms of rocketry and has more resources, but takes considerably longer.

Oh, and hydrogen/LOX fuel is royally ****ty for deep-space flight because the hydrogen has a nasty tendency to boil off and the fuel and oxidizer need to be refrigerated at different temperatures. Methane, far easier to create on Mars, is much denser and thus requires a smaller tank. While its ISP is somewhat lower, the reduced size of the tank for the same amount of fuel helps considerably in this regard and methane does not boil off as hydrogen does.

 

[Dr. Chuckles]

Could it ever be possible that we will be able to create a literal city on the moon? This includes houses, malls, businesses, parks, etc.
Also if this were to happen would the city be considered part of a specific country or would it be more like it's own nation?? Thoughts
and opinions.

I couldn't really see the benefit of a moon colony. As far as such things, it would seem to make more sense to colonize a place like mars. It's farther a way, has more resources, water, etc. The moon only has minerals and is relatively close

 

[Dr. Chuckles]

Too much radiation.

In addition, it actually takes more energy and thus fuel to reach the Moon than it does Mars due to the quirks of physics. Of course, Mars trips take longer but this could be mitigated by larger crews and artificial gravity created by centrifugal force.

Interesting fact. I did not know that

 

[Fisher]

There was no specification as to human assholes.

Well since DP posts have told me that my calamari might be pig butthole, I am not bothered so much.

 

[specklebang]

We have exactly the same conversations on Mars regarding Earth as you are holding here.

There are important differences between out two planets.
•Our gravity is 40% lower than yours.
•Our temperatures are much lower than yours
•While many of our minerals are similar to yours such as nickel, copper, titanium, iron, platinum, palladium, and chromium, lead, silver, tin, bismuth, antimony, we also have large deposits of niobium (which we use) and gold (which we don't). Since niobium is integral to our technology, it would be hard for us to establish significant colonies on Earth.
•While we are essentially humanoid, we are bigger, stronger and much more appealing than you are. As a much older culture, we no longer resemble monkeys the way you do. Since out atmosphere is thinner than yours (as well as the much more practical gravity), we are made of sterner stuff so instead of fragile skin, we are covered with scales that are much more durable. Our center "arm/hand" gives us a much greater sense of balance and has allowed us to develop our technologies much more quickly. Add this to the fact that our race is almost 2 million years older than yours, and you can see how little interest we have in your planet.
•Before you even ask, no, we have not developed FTL although I think we will in the future.
•Since we are conscious of our resource limitation, we maintain a population of about 100 million. A permit is required to breed. Our permits are eugenically based and we have very few "disabled" citizens.

Your Ambassador has repeatedly asked to form an alliance with us to merge our development in a quest for travel to nearby star systems in hopes of finding a habitable planet. We have not agreed to this because 1) despite your planet being only a little larger than ours, you have divided it up into over 200 "countries" and you squabble and fight with each other constantly, thus no real agreements can be arrived at and we don't want to encourage your incessant breeding. Perhaps in time your species will mature and we will reconsider that as appropriate.

When I was one of the chosen few sent to open an Embassy on your planet, I considered it a punishment, not a compliment.

The only thing you have that we don't are cats. Since I've lived here (on Earth) I have collected a number of these marvelous creatures and I can only say that if they were the dominant species here, we would be much more comfortable with you as a solar system neighbor. We actually brought a few cats back on our periodic supply ship but we lost them when they jumped and flew off into space, being unused to the gravity differential. So, we have given up on that idea and you don't have anything else of interest to us.

Your moon is essentially worthless (other than its novelty value) while ours (you call them Phobos and Deimos) are rich with exotic minerals and provide us with valuable supplies. We have also built a few recreational areas for those who enjoy autonomous flight.

If anyone is interested in relocating to Mars, we require that you be sterilized first. Please contact either Specklebang or PriateMK1 etaoinshrdlu@martianembassy.com

 

[sawyerloggingon]

Could it ever be possible that we will be able to create a literal city on the moon? This includes houses, malls, businesses, parks, etc.
Also if this were to happen would the city be considered part of a specific country or would it be more like it's own nation?? Thoughts
and opinions.

Not only no but HELL NO!

 

[CanadaJohn]

Could it ever be possible that we will be able to create a literal city on the moon? This includes houses, malls, businesses, parks, etc.
Also if this were to happen would the city be considered part of a specific country or would it be more like it's own nation?? Thoughts
and opinions.

Since Newt Gingrich didn't get the nomination last year, I'm thinking the Moon colony idea has been put on the back burner.

 

[Helix]

The monopolies up there would suck. I'd probably have to pay a hundred bucks for a bottle of booze. Also, high speed internet seems unlikely, so I'd visit, but only for a minute.

 

[specklebang]

Jeez Sawyer. He said LITERAL no LIBERAL.

Not only no but HELL NO!

 

[sawyerloggingon]

The monopolies up there would suck. I'd probably have to pay a hundred bucks for a bottle of booze. Also, high speed internet seems unlikely, so I'd visit, but only for a minute.

You pay that now on an airplane. How many of those little bottles does it take to make a fifth?