What makes an ideal Moon base?

How about a defined purpose for it? I really think that the way to go is
first with a long-duration lunar exploration temporary base. Something about
the size of skylab, with the ability to support 3-5 explorers, the ability
to keep their space suits and vehicles in repair for about two weeks, so
they can take full advantage of the light period of a lunar day. Follow-on
missions could be for six weeks, but I'm not sure what one can due during
the lunar night.

The problem with a permanent base is defining a mission. Can one explore the
moon better when tied down to a single, fixed base, or would it be better to
mount multiple stay extended stay expeditions? I would really rather see the
money spent on six to ten prolonged-stay missions.

Another problem is that these lunar base proposals are a little like
building the ISS without the Almaz/Salyut and Mir experiences. I think that
gaining the experience of how a structure works in a lunar context (mostly
the dust issues), how one keeps spacesuits and vehicles going, is best
explored through smaller steps rather than an immediate go for a large base.

Another idea I've seen that seems attractive is to use an LOR-based
approach. Put a reasonably-sized station (Mir-sized, probably), in lunar
orbit, and use it to stage the extended stay missions described above. I
don't think, however, that this is a good solution overall, since the only
saving you might have is reuse of the extended stay "mini-base". The crew
would probably have to be sent from earth for each mission, and you would
have the overhead of maintaining a space station.

In article ,
"Ami Silberman" wrote:

Another idea I've seen that seems attractive is to use an LOR-based
approach. Put a reasonably-sized station (Mir-sized, probably), in lunar
orbit, and use it to stage the extended stay missions described above. I
don't think, however, that this is a good solution overall, since the only
saving you might have is reuse of the extended stay "mini-base". The crew
would probably have to be sent from earth for each mission, and you would
have the overhead of maintaining a space station.

Another problem is that due to the irregular gravitational field of the
moon, your orbit would perturb fairly quickly; this would require a
somewhat substantial reboost capability for the lunar station and of
course that implies a steady supply of propellant to do so, increasing
your overhead for station maintenance.

--
Herb Schaltegger, B.S., J.D.
"Never underestimate the power of human stupidity."
~ Robert A. Heinlein
http://www.angryherb.net

"Ami Silberman" wrote in message
...
I'm not sure what one can due during
the lunar night.

Astronomy and medical experiments, but mostly that's the time for
maintenance. If you have enough backups, you can defer a lot of maintenance
during the day.

I think the perfect compliment to a lunar base would be a sky hook. sky
hooks could use "sky elevators" to move people and stuff (space vehicle
stuff?) up to the anckor where there could be a "space port" among
other things. posibly a base for suplying a lunar base. it would be a
perfect way to "get around" the earths gravity well. using nuclear
material to "super heat" some thing to be used as fuel, like ions if an
ion rocket engine could ever provide the thrust necesary to go to the
moon.

I forsee the moon or some "space dock" attached to the moon in
geo-sych orbit being the place for large interstellar space craft
construction.
The "moon base" could have a mining economy but mining the asteroid
belt would net more material and u could do it for far longer than
mining the moon.U could have science stuff (a astronomy observatory
could be in use 24-7 if it were built on one of the poles, a tourist
industrie, and of course u will need mantenace specialists for all the
equipment up there. eventually you could have a mcdonalds on the moon.
And if it were not used for such it would be the biggest over sight
eva!!!!