Can we terraform the Moon?
Are there phenomena capable of destroying the Earth or the human species in seconds?
Many. What options do we humans have if that happens? The conquest of space is the next step
that we must take as a species, not only because of the economic benefits that space mining can
present but because it is the best way to ensure our survival. In this conquest towards the last
frontier, there is an idea that has gained strength in recent decades: Terraforming.
Terraforming a celestial body means molding it so it can sustain life as we know it
and make a planet equal to or at least similar to Earth. Although this has been explored a lot in
science fiction, we are increasingly approaching the technological threshold to consider the
terraforming of planets and moons as a reality. Indeed, you've heard a lot about terraforming
Mars but little about the Moon, and it's normal to hear about bombarding it with
water-filled meteors like it was an easy task, looking to turn it blue and then green, but how
true is this? What can we do to terraform the Moon? Is it viable? Let's find out!
Challenges and resources to terraform the Moon. Working on terraforming the Moon has a significant
advantage over any other planet in the solar system: distance. Compared to Mars or Venus,
the most common candidates, you can communicate practically in real-time with people on the Moon.
The logistics necessary for the task are greatly facilitated; however, not all are advantages
because each planet or Moon is different. To live anywhere in the universe
requires us to fulfill specific basic needs: food, water, breathable air, and
shelter from radiation. This means that the first thing we need is an atmosphere, something that the
Moon does not have, in principle, because of the solar wind that rips apart sooner or later the
gases that could exist on its surface. 1. The lunar magnetic field
The first thing that must be solved is the absence of a magnetic field so that the solar wind
won’t snatch away any atmosphere that we can create. Since our satellite is tiny and
has no active tectonic plates, thinking about activating or reactivating a dynamo in its core
is not a good idea. Instead, a high-powered magnetic field generator can be installed to enter
a parallel, fixed orbit concerning the Moon. This can be achieved by placing this magnetic generator
at the first Lagrange point, which is an area in which the gravitational pull of celestial bodies
is counteracted so that an object spiraling downward to the sun can be maintained as a
fixed point in space by being pulled by other bodies such as the Moon and Earth.
This equipment would require large amounts of energy, but large solar panels can provide
this since these can be used much better if there is no atmosphere. At the same time,
installing at that point could facilitate us to install a series of mirrors that can concentrate
the sun's energy towards the Moon, giving us a good amount of energy for the activities
we must do on the surface or beneath it. Another need that this achievement would cover
would be an improvement in the quality of human life throughout the process, since the solar wind
and the radiation it brings can very negatively affect the health of astronauts for prolonged
periods, even favoring the appearance of cancer. 2. Water, atmosphere, and temperature.
Once we don't have to worry about the solar wind and radiation, we can concentrate on forming a
lunar atmosphere and carrying water to the Moon. It should be clarified that causing
meteorite impacts can be a terrible idea. First of all, while, in theory, you could
make controlled impacts of meteors rich in water or other materials that we need, the logistics of
going to an asteroid belt and accurately diverting one from bodies makes this solution very expensive
and excessively slow, we need something faster! Suppose the calculations go wrong or certain
factors are not considered when modeling the impact trajectories towards the Moon. A lousy
collision could expel gases, water, and materials into space, losing the atmospheric gains and time.
Not to mention mistakes that could put human lives at risk.
Turning to see the Moon's resources may be a better idea. For example, during the last decades,
it has been detected that the Moon has water in the form of ice on its surface, especially in
those areas where sunlight does not reach, such as craters or shadows generated by the rocky relief,
something suggested by multiple investigations. Still, it has also been shown that the lunar
rocks collected in the Apollo missions are hydrated, so you can get water from those,
as Alexander Basilevsky, a planetary geologist at the Russian Academy of Sciences, says.
Suppose we can take advantage of the sun's energy with solar panels and burners.
In that case, we can obtain energy to carry out electrolysis processes
with the lunar rocks and gradually take the elements that we have at hand on the surface.
In their latest unified geological map of the Moon, the United States Geological Survey USGS,
in conjunction with NASA, has interpreted a silicate-filled surface where getting oxygen
wouldn't be a problem. If. If you have a lot of oxygen in the rocks and lunar regolith, you can
use hydrogen from space to create water. ThisThis process is what Alexander Basilevsky mentions
as the first water former on the Moon; however, this water would be volatile and can easily
escape into space by being bombarded again by the sun's high-energy particles,
disintegrating the water molecule back into hydrogen and oxygen, unless they can find refuge
in craters and permanently shadowed areas of the Moon, where ice sheets are thought to be found,
from the poles to the equator, which can provide a precious resource relatively at hand.
Also, these electrolysis processes will necessarily involve a generation of heat to
the environment, so when we create or capture oxygen and water, we could be releasing heat
relatively slowly but safely. We already have experienced warming a planet after all.
One problem that remains to be addressed is the little presence detected in lunar rocks of
nitrogen and carbon, essential elements for life and found only in parts per million on the Moon.
However, this could not be entirely true since the samples we have are not from the entire Moon,
which can cover up local rock deposits that do have these elements,
an idea that is gaining strength since it has been detected samples of carbon ions being
emitted in more significant quantities than expected in the basaltic plains
according to data from the Japanese mission of the Lunar Orbiter Kaguya. If this is confirmed
for carbon, it would give us hope for nitrogen or facilitate logistics by importing fewer elements
into the lunar atmosphere. 3. Gravity.
The main problem of planetoids and satellites in terms of terraforming is their lack of gravity. It
is usually fantasized about a full moon of water and waves 20 meters high with people who can fly
with little equipment due to low gravity, a "lunar Florida," but currently, this is only fantasy.
In reality, low gravity has two serious problems. The first is that it involves health problems
for the settlers or future inhabitants, although we do not know for sure. Many astronauts have
experienced shallow gravity on the international space station or in space traveling. Still, the
Moon has gravity, one-sixth of Earth’s, but it is better than nothing, and the effects of bone and
muscle loss may not present themselves in the same way. Despite that, you can kill two birds with one
stone by placing pieces of lead in astronauts' suits to increase their weight and protect them
from radiation, or you can decrease this problem with plenty of exercise and special facilities
for sports and sleep, facilities that keep the body feeling the Earth's gravity when sleeping.
However, the real problem of low gravity in terraforming is much more severe since,
combined with the solar wind, it prevents the Moon from retaining the gases with which we would build
its atmosphere. It has been estimated that we could only retain them for about 10,000 years,
forcing us to create a giant dome that keeps them inside
or constantly generates new gases to replace those that escape into space. Ideas that distance
the terraforming of our Moon a lot. On the other hand, maintaining the
idea of bombarding the Moon with meteors, asteroids, and comets to make it gain mass
and better retain a future atmosphere not only increases the risks already mentioned above,
but perhaps it would not be a good idea for life on Earth if our satellite has more and more mass.
Increasing it could attract more meteors and asteroids; in addition, the effects on the
tides could be devastating, affecting the lives of many human beings who live on the coasts
and the value chains of energy infrastructures enlarging the problem in large quantities.
So if there is no way to make the Moon have more mass and the atmosphere will be lost anyway,
isn't it possible to terraform the Moon? No, at least not with current technology,
but there is no need to give up yet. Lunar colonization
As we theoretically face the challenges of lunar terraforming, researchers have found
more and more objects of interest both in a scientific way and in an economic one,
and the Moon may still have many secrets kept. We must remember that the Apollo missions were
motivated by politics rather than science, which meant that the landing sites did not
have planning that favored scientific research. Hence, knowing better the
resources that the Moon has is fundamental. There is already a program of lunar exploration,
exploitation, and commercialization working hard to return to the Moon and make great discoveries,
experiments that test what has been said so far, and commercial arrangements, the Artemis program,
led by NASA, but in which multiple space agencies participate.
Suppose the logistical capacity to exploit lunar resources is achieved and economically worthwhile
deposits such as rare-earth elements are discovered. In that case, this program will grow,
and competition may arise, starting once and for all with space mining. If this happens,
creating industry and human habitats to operate these industries will become a priority,
and we will apply everything learned to generate these habitats.
Perhaps in large craters, we can install a dome, take advantage of the water they have,
and import some land, carbon, and nitrogen in specific areas for the livelihood of workers
through a lunar crop. Solar panels and ovens can be used to have enough energy.
Additionally, mining on the Moon will carry out electrolysis processes.
Since the days last for weeks on the Moon, another option to create shelters for humans would be to
dig out caverns a few meters deep, where during the day, there will be naturally a pleasant
temperature for humans. We can take advantage of energy stored during the day and at night.
These activities may gradually extend until colonization is an undeniable fact. This
colonization has other advantages in addition to the economic ones since the Moon can be used as a
base of space operations to other satellites and planets, as the low gravity entails lower costs
in the launches. The necessary infrastructure will begin to exist due to economic needs anyway,
making this proposal even more profitable in theory. The in-situ resources and especially the
water reserves that the Moon has will facilitate the production of rocket fuel if we continue with
the same technology in the first place. At the same time, there is a planet that
is very similar in many ways to the Moon but has greater gravity and a much greater energy supply,
a planet on which the same techniques that we have explored can be used and would have a greater
possibility of being terraformed: Mercury. Working on lunar terraforming will make us gain
experience and opens the door to the terraforming of other similar satellites where the solar wind
and gravitational context are more beneficial for the task, expanding, in turn, the potential
of space mining. Perhaps we can't terraform every celestial body in our solar system,
at least not for now, but achieving it would be the most remarkable human feat.
Finally, the human being would be taking the first steps in the right direction to
become a space colonizing species. It will take time to get used to these activities.
While we should never look down on any ethical and social questions,
colonizing the Moon until self-sustainability in artificial habitats is possible
is necessary for our survival and, at the same time, the natural next step for our species.