Contributing writer
“One small step for man. One giant leap for mankind.”
This phrase from the pages of our history books is used in commercial after commercial, and takes many back to the day they first heard these empowering words during astronaut Neil Armstrong’s epic journey to the moon in 1969. This phrase obviously had an immense effect on our society and it’s about to make a comeback.
On Oct. 9, NASA punched a hole about 100 feet across in the moon’s surface and then measured approximately 25 gallons of water in the form of vapor and ice. What do these seemingly harmless water molecules mean? This makes it plausible for humans to sustain life on our very own moon. Trust me, I didn’t believe it at first either.
I laughed aloud the first time I heard this. However, when I started research and found many mainstream news corporations covering the story, the realization slowly hit me that this true-life “Star Wars” fable wasn’t as big as a farce as perhaps I originally assumed.
So, what exactly does this mean?
One thing I can comfortably assure you is the moon will not soon be a vacation resort offered to anyone with the bank account to support the idea. There will certainly not be brochures highlighting the many attractions offered to those interested and I doubt Princess Leia will make her awaited appearance at a “MoonTrust Bank Arena” anytime soon.
However, NASA does have some big plans. Currently under review by the Obama administration, they are calling for a return to the moon at the end of the next decade, and construction of a lunar base in which astronauts and their families, of course, could live and work for not days but months at a time.
A now “resource rich” moon could also serve as the perfect low-gravity launching pad for special space missions that could carry new space families into other parts of our solar system which could result in greatly fulfilling the aspirations of visionaries and science fiction writers alike.
After hearing this, I instantly had mental images of men in spacesuits buzzing around on flying scooters, wives busy back at the “bubble” baking space brownies, and children building castles out of moon sand. But what truly will all this result in?
A real colony living on the moon! Imagine the culture, atmosphere, and mood ON THE MOON! The idea is more than revolutionary to me — it’s slightly scary as well — and when the time comes a lot of factors will need to be considered that no one took the time to think about before.
I can see it now, future headlines of the “Moonchronicle” — “Murder on the moon,” or “Public Urination, a problem.”
If anything, this concept simply makes me more appreciative of not only living on earth but life without a spacesuit.