China and Europe will collaborate to build a "moon village"
European Space Agency is collaborating with its Chinese counterpart to build a "moon village". This base is going to act as a launch pad for Mars missions, to explore the viability of commercial mining and chances of developing tourism. However, they are not alone in the race of colonizing the moon as governments and individuals alike have expressed their desire to have residency there.
What is the "moon village" project?
The 33rd Space Symposium which was held this month witnessed re-introduction of the "moon village." The idea is to build a sustainable permanent base on the moon in collaboration with various countries. The project will commence by deciding upon a suitable location for a base. Once the location is decided, unmanned lunar landers will be deployed to place inflatable habitats in position.
Elon Musk's house on the moon
The construction of moon base proposed by Tesla CEO and SpaceX pioneer Elon Musk is supposed to begin by 2030. The initial population of this base will be 1200 and will consist of screened individuals who will be given adequate training for staying and working on the moon. Musk also aims to fly around the moon along with two other people, later next year.
ISRO's new mining field for energy
Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is now planning to mine Helium-3 rich lunar dust from the moon for energy purposes. The space agency will mine the lunar dust, generate energy, store it and send it back to earth. Dr. Sivathanu Pillai, who has served as the chief of BrahMos Aerospace said that this endeavor is one of the priority programs set by the organization.
Amazon CEO plans lunar shipment service
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos who also runs the space company Blue Origin has reportedly being passing a white paper which "urges [NASA] to back an Amazon-like shipment service for the moon", according to Washington Post. Bezos plans to deliver packages to the moon base by 2020 and has said, "It is time for America to return to the moon - this time to stay."
Even Trump wants a piece of the moon
Trump is reported to have been "very interested in a man going to the moon" as revealed by Douglas Brinkley, a historian, and conservationist, after his visit to Trump's office. The proposition of moon base has been long-favored by one of Trump's advisers Newt Gingrich and now it appears to have made its way into Trump's future endeavors as gauged by Brinkley's remarks.
NASA's inflatable greenhouse for manned missions to Moon and Mars
To meet the needs of the astronauts working in deep space in the manned missions to Moon and Mars, NASA has created inflatable greenhouses which can sustain and use the environment on Mars and Moon. New York Post reported that these prototypes would be able to use the water found on Moon and Mars in order to grow vegetation.
