The future of fiction books is approaching every day. What seemed incredible and impossible before is closer than we thought. Now scientists from the main space agencies of the world are solving a serious problem - how to build a village on the moon. Despite the seeming absurdity of the phrase, it has common sense. Moreover, the construction of a settlement on the Moon is important and necessary from many points of view.
Village on the moon
Where did the idea of building a settlement on a satellite of the Earth come from? It was expressed by the new head of ESA Johann Dietrich-Werner in August last year. He stated that the village on the moon is the future of earthlings, which needs to be thought about now. Despite some criticism, Dietrich-Werner's idea seemed sound to his colleagues. And that's why.
First, before a mission to Mars, NASA astronauts need to find a test site. According to experts, the Moon is the best training facility. It is there that astronauts will be able to learn how to work in conditions of distance from the Earth, adapt to gravity and be ready for emergency situations. There you can also try out a giant 3D printer from NASA. Secondly, because of the wars and conflicts on our planet, humanity needs to have spare lands where it will be possible to hide from dangers. A place in space is an ideal scenario in case of many disasters. Finally, from the point of view of science, the village on the moon is of unlimited interest. Dietrich-Werner recalled that mankind learned about the greenhouse effect from observations of Venus.
Where will the settlement on the Earth satellite be located? Dietrich-Werner proposes to arrange it on the far side of the moon. The ESA head reminds that the settlement on the Moon is "not just a village of several houses with a church and a city hall." We are talking about a large-scale space station, in the creation of which every space agency in the world will take part. The settlement should be located on the far side of the Moon also because there will be massive telescopes that will capture everything that happens in space.
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What does James Bond have to do with it?
The classic of Bond is the film The Man with the Golden Gun. Despite the fact that the film was played by the stars of that era, such as Roger Moore and Christopher Lee, it did not enjoy much success. Surprisingly, this 1974 film contains technologies that will help build a village on the moon.
Recall that the main villain of the painting, Francisco Scaramanga, made a superweapon - a solar cannon, which is capable of destroying the whole world. The legendary James Bond, of course, finds the villain's lair and kills him in a duel. And the sun cannon in this film is a symbol of evil.
Scientists from the German agency DLR have created a device that looks a lot like a villainous props. However, a solar cannon from the laboratory of European scientists will help build that very village on the moon, which seemed no more than a fiction six months ago.
Moon dust houses
Scientists from Germany have created a real masterpiece of engineering technology called the Solar Concentrator ("Solar storage"). This device consists of giant mirrors with a tray oven inside. The sunbeam passes through these mirrors, accumulates and heats the oven to 2500 degrees Celsius. This temperature melts steel, iron and titanium with ease.
How can such a sun cannon help build a village on the moon? Scientists say they can use the Solar Concentrator to make dense bricks from moon dust. At the moment, DLR is in the process of converting bulk materials into dense building blocks. Scientists even have an analogue of moon dust, which looks like ordinary dust with an admixture of volcanic dust. It is on it that they carry out the necessary experiments.
The researchers also told why it is more expedient to bake bricks on the moon than to bring them from Earth. Matthias Sperl from DLR told the media that the cost of flights to our planet's satellite is truly astronomical. It took NASA more than $ 200 billion to get the astronauts to the moon (in current prices). If we take into account the transportation of materials and equipment, then all the space agencies in the world will not have enough money for such a project. Therefore, scientists from all over the planet are trying to adapt the materials that are at hand - the sun and dust - for the construction of a village on the moon. This will save you money.
The researchers also told how the construction of a settlement on a satellite of the Earth will look like. Most likely, the astronauts will take the Solar Concentrator to the Moon, and there they will be able to burn bricks from the moon dust. Astronauts will make buildings of them. Scientists say that they have not yet decided on the course of construction. It is possible that houses from moon dust can be built according to the Lego principle. On the other hand, astronauts can build dwellings in one piece. It is possible that a huge 3D printer will be set up under the bricks of moon dust.
However, there are several important little things that push the ambitious plans of European scientists into the background. First, the researchers have not yet learned how to make bricks from moon dust on the Solar Concentrator. Secondly, even if the blocks can still be created with the help of the Sun, scientists cannot yet say how the solar storage device will work in conditions of weak gravity. So even plans to build a village on the moon will take years. However, scientists do not despair. At the DLR, and indeed at the ESA, among scientists, joyful excitement and anticipation of a miracle reigns. "It could actually happen," Sperl says of the future lunar village, "and I'm looking forward to it."
Valeria Bryusova