ON this day in 1969, Nasa’s Apollo 11 mission landed humans on the Moon for the first time.
While Neil Armstrong’s boot print, still enshrined in lunar regolith, gathers dust – the US, China, Russia and their partners are racing to go back.
The Apollo 11 crew – Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin – will soon be some of the few human beings to have observed the Moon in all its untouched glory.
The future of the Moon in decades to come, that the US and China envision, is one of a futuristic metropolis and a gateway to planets beyond.
To start, the astronauts exploring the Moon and helping build a permanent habitation base will need somewhere to live.
That’s why Nasa has been partnering with 3D-printing firm Icon since 2022, as part of a $57million contract.
The printer can build cave-like dome structures in as little as 48 hours – which may also revolutionise housebuilding on Earth.
But we’ll need more than just astro-explorers.
Astro-farmers will be the key to a long-term future off-planet.
Analysis of lunar samples returned to Earth in the past show that the soil on the Moon – also known as regolith – has most of the essential minerals for plant growth.
All except one.
Regolith lacks nitrogen. Lunar soil also compacts when watered, which can suffocate and stunt root growth and plant germination.
But scientists at the European Space Agency (ESA) have drawn up plans to grow plants outside lunar soil, using vertical gardens.
This is called hydroponic farming, and it involves plants being grown directly in nutrient-rich water, instead of soil.
However, researchers have successfully grown beans in lunar soil, so using lunar regolith isn’t completely off the table.
The food grown on the moon could be even healthier.
Researchers from Florida University in 2022 announced that the stress of growing plants in alien soil boosts levels of protective compounds, commonly found in superfoods such as blueberries and kale.
Nasa has picked three companies to develop a new lunar racer car that astronauts will use to traverse the Moon as early as the 2030s.
Moon-buggies will help astronauts reach never-before-explored destinations that are deemed unreachable by foot.
The lunar terrain rover (LTV) will be an essential string in Nasa’s bow in terms of scientific research and exploring the Moon’s south pole during the Artemis V mission.
The Artemis V, which is currently scheduled for 2026, aims to land two astronauts on the moon for the first time in 55 years.
By 2050, transport systems around the moon are expected to be even more advanced.
The US Department of Defence has proposed a lunar rail system that could transport both humans and supplies across the habitation site – or possibly across several bases.
The “lunar railroad” is hoped to allow for serious and sustained economic development on the moon, as nations eye-up a bounty of untouched lunar minerals.
Now all of this infrastructure is going to require a lot of power, with a brand new energy grid.
The freezing, two-week-long, lunar night poses obvious issues with relying on solar energy.
The Moon doesn’t experience wind, either.
That’s why Nasa has tabled the Fission Surface Power Project, which aims to put a nuclear reactor on the moon.
It’s one of the biggest goals for Nasa’s upcoming Artemis programme.
Fission surface power could provide abundant and continuous power on the moon, regardless of environmental conditions.
It could also enable the exploration of deeper space destinations in the future.
The UK Space Agency has backed Rolls-Royce’s design for a futuristic nuclear power station.
But it’s not just a goal of the West.
Russia and China, too, are planning to put a nuclear reactor on the moon within the next decade.
Yuri Borisov, the head of Russia‘s space agency Roscosmos, announced in March that the two nations are hoping to install a nuclear unit by 2035.
Built by robots, the power plant will form part of China and Russia’s plan to build the International Lunar Research Station – a sprawling space base that is set to begin construction in 2026.
Despite concerns China is hiding secret military projects in space, and may even attempt to claims parts of the moon as its own, Beijing and the US have agreed on one thing.
China is working with US to preserve Neil Armstrong’s footprint on the moon, along with other “historical relics” of previous human landings, according to the South China Morning Post.
So the future may hold space for a moon museum.
The Moon is also to receive its own time zone, as plans to develop permanent living bases quickly progress.
The White House has reportedly directed Nasa to create a standard Moon time for all nations, following a similar proposal by the ESA last year.
Space-faring nations currently use their own time zones when performing lunar missions.
But scientists have warned that this won’t be sustainable in a future where humans are establishing permanent living quarters – let alone when grand plans for the lunar railway network unfold.
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