Humans To Live On The Moon Soon?

A new study claimed that human beings might be able to return to the Moon in the next decade. The decade after that, humans might be capable of living there.

The announcement was made 46 years after the crew of the Apollo 11 first stepped on the lunar surface. The study was conducted by NexGen Space LLC and partially funded by NASA. It concluded that NASA can bring humans to the Moon in the following five to seven years. They can create a permanent base 10 to 12 years after.

Furthermore, all of these will be feasible even while using the current budget of $4 billion per year for human spaceflight. NASA can accomplish such a feat by using the same approach for resupplying the International Space Station. NASA can partner with private entities like SpaceX, the United Launch Alliance or Orbital ATK to make the trip possible, based on a report by The Verge. The cost of bringing humans to the Moon can be reduced by a factor of 10, said Charles Miller, the principal investigator of the study and president of NexGen.

The study used SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy, as an example to establish humans on the Moon. The Falcon Heavy will reportedly be cheaper compared to the Falcon 9, according to SpaceX. The architecture plan will also provide resources as astronauts mine the Moon for hydrogen in the polar water ice. The hydrogen can be processed and converted into cryogenic propellant, which will be stored in a depot spacecraft that orbits the Mon. the fuel can be sold to NASA and other entities that require fuel for trips to Mars.

“You basically expand free enterprise to the Moon,” said Miller.

However, NASA has to consider how much water actually exists on the Moon first.

Christoper Kraft, first Flight Director of NASA, said in a Business Insider report that it is important to determine how much water is actually present on the Moon. If there is very little water, the study will not be applicable. However, if the Moon has enough water, the cost of NASA sending humans to Mars can be cheaper by as much as $10 billion per year.

Creating a permanent lunar base on the Moon to mine water will also substantially pay for trips to Mars. Kraft stated that the new findings of the study will be helpful in the future in the sense that the theory points out how humans can successfully reach Mars via the Moon at a more affordable rate.