WHY THE MOON, FIRST?

Well, despite the "been there, done that" crowd, there are thousands of reasons, both emotional and scientific for returning to the Moon as our NEXT STEP for humankind.  For some, including us, just being able to sit on the Moon and experience a succession of Earth rises may be enough reason. It would be a magical and endearing reminder of how vital and precious our home planet is.  That, notwithstanding, there are some very important arguments, both scientific and commercial for choosing to create a permanent Moon Base, and to make it our launch point for extended explorations of our solar system.

Although there are a host of commercial goals related to a Moon Base operation, our focus is on a Moon Base as the key Command and Control center for the launching of extended solar system explorations.  Associated with this objective are on-site explorations to determine the most suitable location for a permanent lunar-style "JSC and KSC" operation.  In this regard, the accessibility of the Moon to Earth, its size and potential to accommodate both extensive civil and commercial operations make it an ideal initial space-based, long term operation.  The ongoing habitation and support research carried out by both NASA and the Moon Society increasingly indicate the suitability of a lunar site for our future human spaceflight operations. You may click here to view a presentation by the Moon Society on current and forcasted lunar missions.

Our development of a permanent Moon Base will take a considerable investment in time and expense.  In this regard, our position on the creation of a Global Space Congress would provide an international investment of money, manpower, and technology toward the achievement of the lunar site. Yes, there will be mistakes and setbacks, but these will be offset by an overall progress. The international participation strengthens this program just as it has with the International Space Station. It will be the second most important step in solidifying global unity for deep space exploration and eventual commercial operations.

It is doubtful that most Earthlings will venture very far into outer space. Perhaps, in time, there will be commercial jaunts into Low Earth Orbit, and eventually tourist operations on our Moon. This latter offering will further strengthen humankind's appreciation of and concern for both planet Earth and the overall status of our solar system. These are key elements that bind us into a full-fledged space-faring citizenry. This will insure the next phase of human evolution will have begun.

As we have implied above, the establishment of a lunar base is a joint and solidifying venture. From a logistics standpoint the proximity of our Moon to Earth makes the transport of  crews and supplies a serious, but attainable and sustainable process. In this regard, we envision the design and development of a LunaShuttle that will fulfill the transport and trucking needs of the Moon exploration and settlement teams. We will discuss, in detail, the LunaShuttle in following blog articles. We will say this, that once launched LunaShuttles will remain parked at an expanded ISS/Servicing Facility when they are not on duty. More on this later, with more detail.

We have avoided the classic explorers' explanation for their motivation. "because it is there", but to some extent it directly applies to establishing a Moon Base first.  It is a resource-full large space station at  a reasonable distance that offers ample support for all of our future space exploration missions. Besides, it is really very much part of us and to ignore its potential and promise is to make our efforts more difficult and more expensive. It is a Sleeping Beauty waiting to be awakened again.

CREDITS: The image of the Earth-rise was taken by the Apollo 8 astronauts as they orbited our Moon. Courtesy NASA and the Apollo 8 astronauts.