How SpaceX Could Handle Life Support on the Moon
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Space is brutal — it’s a truth that never seems to escape our plans for the future. That little fact also means that any attempt to establish a human presence anywhere off Earth is faced with a harsh reality: humans just can’t survive without our current conditions.
Alongside a lack of sheer power, this is one central point behind why humans haven’t established a permanent base off the Earth. Even something like the International Space Station is set to be retired over the next few years, thanks to the fact it wasn’t built to last forever.
In the vacuum of space, things are tough.
But, what about something like Earth’s Moon? Compared to the minus 273 degrees Celsius temperatures of the coldest areas of space, the roughly 13-under average temperature of the Moon’s Southern Pole doesn’t seem so bad. Additionally, the Moon has gravity — obviously. Even at just 17 percent that of the Earth, it still presents an opportunity. An opportunity to create a permanent base.
But why SpaceX? It’s pretty easy to understand; SpaceX is our most likely contender for the title of “first permanent Moonbase,” whether thanks to the plans already in action or the power of Falcon-series rockets, Starship, and the like.
Even NASA’s Artemis Program relies on SpaceX technology, building on top of that idea for the company to be the first in pushing colonists towards the Moon. Plus, there’s even Moonbase, the name of the orbiting space station which will ferry astronauts to and from the surface of the Moon. It also happens to be in the works between NASA and SpaceX, although it’s much more familiar with what we have today.
Compared to the idea of a futuristic moon base, Moonbase isn’t really under the exact definition. Instead, it’s an ISS, but likely entirely American and in orbit around the Moon. The International Space Station has been extensively studied already, plus Moonbase isn’t really on the Moon, meaning we’re going to skim over those two entirely.
So, really what’s left?
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