You have no idea how many different questions people have. We get questions from all over the board. It’s probably healthy that the questions are so spread out because people from many different areas of thought are interested. However, it’s enough to drive any sane person mad. Sometimes it just makes you wonder.

I even had to write a book to get a lot of questions out of the way. We’re working on a strange questions section. There’s also other websites where you could find great answers to your question about space.

Most often questions deal with small technical issues. A large part of space advocacy has to do with education, and explaining complex concepts involved in space. If you have a question that should be added please email questions@colonize-the-moon.com. Keep it clean.

What is space advocacy?

Space advocacy is advocating for space. In one way you could call it astro-humanism. Basically, it’s a general term for spreading information about the space. There are many flavors because the term encompasses many different viewpoints. If you hear someone saying good things, or generally spreading information, about space they’re probably a space advocate.

What is the space community?

The quickest answer: People who live in space in their mind. Sure, that might be a bit of ivory tower, building castles in the sky, optimism. There is a very real detachment between the dream of space and the reality that many people face every day. This website is about connecting the space community to reality. To make anything happen there has to be a means of explaining it to more grounded individuals.

Why would we want to go to the moon?

There is so much to discuss in this question, it’s hard to begin. One could write an entire library on pros and still not cover all the reasons. In the most basic terms, our economic and environmental problems can be profitably solved by using resources from the moon.

Why are Asteroids Important?

A single modest asteroid contains trillions of dollars in wealth. There are millions of them. The minerals range from gold to iron. They are easier to process in free space because of the vacuum of space, and constant solar energy.

Asteroids are like space candy. They’re too sweet to believe. Asteroids are awesome because they can support both Mars and Moon based plans.

Why is Mars Important?

Look up Dr. Robert Zubrin. He’s the hero of this issue.

How?

Be careful when asking this question. This website is about Why we should go into space, not How. We do gloss over the question of how.

Why?

There are many reasons. This website is about this question… at least in regard to space, the moon, mars, asteroids, etc.

Are  you for serious?

Yes.

What about Aliens?

Either they exist or they don’t. Keep up your efforts to find them on the internet.

Isn’t this all theoretical?

A major advantage of humanity is abstract thinking. Very little theory is involved here.

There is no life on the moon.

True statement.

There is no air/oxygen on the moon, how would people breath?

Yes, no air. It has been shown that oxygen can be “cooked” out of the lunar soil. Other than that any air that is kept in a structure on the moon, must be transported from earth and/or generated by plant life on site.

How would people live on the moon?

The practical way to ‘live off the moon’ is to build a large space station much like the ideas of Gerard K. O’Neill. It’s very unlikely that permanent habitation of the moon will ever happen. The lessened gravity prevents proper development in youngsters. Temporary maintenance workers would probably be necessary from time to time. Housing these temp workers would require them to live under the soil as it provides a radiation shield. There would likely be a minimum set on the amount of soil to be piled over any occupied temporary housing.

The Moon has Energy Resources?

Yes. The correct verbiage would be lunar derived space power satellites and helium-3.

Yea, Apollo was a fake; we never went to the moon.

This website is a conspiracy in development, so if you would like to join up that’s great. However, we support your effort to disseminate information calling for a return to the moon to prove that Apollo was faked. Since it is a falsifiable claim, be prepared to be proven wrong in your statement. If you have any questions please make sure to phrase them in standard conspiracy theorist lexicon. For example, make claims that are not falsifiable.

What plan do you specifically advocate?

This is more about communicating the value of space rather than a single plan. It doesn’t matter what plan it is, as long as it can return value known to exist.

When would be a good time to start on such a plan?

Now. Space launch costs are declining, and the prices for possible products are rising.

How does a moon colony help the economy?

Trade is the foundation of all civilization. The Silk Road was the obstacle that led to the discovery of the new world. Literally trade in an earth-space sense could generate trillions of dollars of wealth. This is an understatement, not an overstatement.

If going to the moon is so profitable why haven’t we done it already?

The space shuttle got in the way. It was expensive.

Why hasn’t NASA gone back if it’s so important?

They can’t.

NASA can’t legally do anything in space. Check out the 1967 Space Treaty, it bans governments from building moon-bases, mars outposts, or claiming territory in space. Also, check out NASA’s mission statement. The mission statement spells out clearly that NASA’s purpose is developing new technologies, and exploring (not developing resources)

If launches cost so much how could we ever go back to the moon?

Look up SpaceX. It’s a company that is currently proving that it can provide launch services at a tenth the cost of NASA and other alternatives. Many of the ideas presented here were proposed long ago based on numbers that the Space Shuttle didn’t live up to.

Isn’t going to the moon difficult and/or expensive?

Yes it is expensive. The cost of such a mission is rapidly dropping. This is due to private sector companies stepping up to the plate. The major privatization movement in space is lowering costs. The discovery of water on the moon also shows promise on lowering costs.

What about the shuttle?

The cancellation of the Space Shuttle one of the best things that has happened in space since the moon landing. For 50 years there has been no reason to fly anything into space other than an LOX powered rocket, and it’s being proven today.

What about the Constellation Project?

They used the incorrect fuel for the job.

Mars is more important than the moon.

Making this statement indicates that you are not up to date on current events in the space industry. The debate over mars vs moon vs asteroids is over. The debate was fueled by the competition for government contracts and funding (1970-2006). Today privatization means marketing is more important than ever. This means that the division between different flavors of advocates must be dissolved. It should be clear that we want to go to all three, and more.

Is there is ice on the Moon?

There is far more than enough ice to open space up to regular travel, and it’s now accepted wisdom. Lunar ice is a recent discovery. There was debate over its existence for about a decade. However, the evidence now indicates that it’s there in gigantic volumes. This is recent news that has not spread fully yet because of the existence of so much legacy content. Anything prior to 12/2010 should be suspect.

Why is Ice on the Moon Important?

Bringing fuel from earth makes getting beyond low earth orbit extremely expensive. A fuel depot in Low Earth Orbit, or other locations, makes space travel relatively cheap and easy. It’s also easy to transport water from the moon to any possible fuel depot location. Water can be converted into rocket fuel. Production as low as a couple hundred tons annually is sufficient to make it profitable, and greatly enhances space development. However, the available ice is in the order of many megatons.

What if the ice isn’t there?

The evidence that it is there is pretty strong. Some have staked their careers on it, so it’s pretty solid. Even if we entertain this fear, we’re talking about water, H20. Oxygen is 89% of the weight. Oxygen is a substance that is in ready abundance in lunar solid, and there are tested means of getting oxygen out of the soil. So there is still a market for lunar resources in a fuel depot system.

The Moon is easier to get to?

Not really, but yes. There is no straight answer. In space everything moves. The term delta-v equates roughly to what we call distance on land. In addition, there are tons of ways to bend the rules. This makes the whole map look confusing at best.

• Some asteroids are occasionally close enough to make them easier to get to than the moon.
• If aerobraking is used Mars is technically closer to earth than the moon, in terms of delta-v (but not in time).
• To get to the moon may take a lot, but getting back is extremely easy if aerobraking is used.
• Mass drivers on the moon can eliminate launch fuel requirements, but aren’t suitable for earth or mars.

[insert map figure when complete]

How does space development help the environment?

All environmental analysis has a single flaw today. A control surface is placed around earth in the assumptions of every analysis. Re-assessing the analysis without this control surface can give insight into this question. Trade with a space-based infrastructure can provide profitable alternatives to ecologically harmful practices.

Couldn’t our resources be spent better trying to improve life on earth?

No. Go back to the seventies. This question is rhetoric. Yes, technological improvements are capable of solving the problems. Yes, social justice is capable of solving issues. Also, space has solutions for some pretty big problems. If there is a claim that our worlds resources are running short, this is the answer to that problem. Think about it in a sense of earth-space trade.

Global warming is a farce.

This website aims to be a neutral party to the debate on whether there is a problem. Quite honestly, space resources can make this issue look pretty small. Yes, space-based resources can solve global warming weather it is a problem or not. You’re probably more interested in the economic benefits if this statement is your question.

What if we break the moon like in the movie The Time Machine?

You would be surprised how often I get this question. As far as the movie The Time Machine is concerned, the practicality of nukes on the moon is extremely dubious as there are other much more abundant, and less violent, means of getting things done.

Have you seen the movie Moon (2009)?

Yup, it was more about clones than helium-3, or lunar resource development. I still liked it.