Colonization of the Moon

Short description: Settlement on the Moon

File:Lunar base concept drawing s99 04195.jpgNASA concept art of an envisioned lunar mining facility

The colonization of the Moon is a process[1] or concept employed by some proposals for robotic[2][3] or human exploitation and settlement endeavours on the Moon. Often used as a synonym for its more specific element of settling the Moon (the establishing and expanding of lunar habitation), lunar or space colonization as a whole has become contested for perpetuating colonialism and its exploitive logic in space.[4]

Laying claim to the Moon has been declared illegal through international space law and no state has made such claims,[5] despite having a range of probes and artificial remains on the Moon.

While a range of proposals for missions of lunar colonization, exploitation or permanent exploration have been raised, current projects for establishing permanent crewed presence on the Moon are not for colonizing the Moon, but rather focus on building moonbases for exploration and to a lesser extent for exploitation of lunar resources.

The commercialization of the Moon is a contentious issue for national and international lunar regulation and laws (such as the Moon treaty).[6]

## Contents

* 1 History
* 2 Missions
* 3 Law
* 4 Economic prospecting and development
* 4.1 Space-based materials processing
* 4.2 Exporting material to Earth
* 4.3 Exporting propellant obtained from lunar water
* 4.3.1 Lunar water ice
* 4.4 Solar power satellites
* 5 See also
* 6 References
* 7 Further reading
* 8 External links

## History

Colonization of the Moon has been imagined as early as the first half of the 17th century by John Wilkins in A Discourse Concerning a New Planet.[7][8]

In the early Space Age the USSR and the US engaged in dropping pennants[9] and raising flags on the Moon, like this Lunar Flag Assembly of 1969, but agreed internationally in 1967 with the Outer Space Treaty to not lay any claims over the Moon or any other celestial bodies.

Colonization of the Moon as a material process has been taking place since the first artificial objects reached the Moon after 1959. Luna landers scattered pennants of the Soviet Union on the Moon, and U.S. flags were symbolically planted at their landing sites by the Apollo astronauts, but no nation claims ownership of any part of the Moon's surface.[10] Russia, China, India, and the U.S. are party to the 1967 Outer Space Treaty,[11] which defines the Moon and all outer space as the "province of all mankind",[10] restricting the use of the Moon to peaceful purposes and explicitly banning military installations and weapons of mass destruction from the Moon.[12]

The landing of U.S. astronauts was seen as a precedent for the superiority of the free-market socioeconomic model of the U.S., and in this case as the successful model for space flight, exploration and ultimately human presence in the form of colonization. In the 1970s the word and goal of colonization was discouraged by NASA and funds as well as focus shifted away from the Moon and particularly to Mars. But the U.S. eventually nevertheless opposed the 1979 Moon Agreement which aimed to restrict the exploitation of the Moon and its resources. Subsequently, the treaty has been signed and ratified by only 18 nations, as of January 2020,[13] none of which engage in self-launched human space exploration.

After U.S. missions in the 1990s suggested the presence of lunar water ice, its actual discovery in the soil at the lunar poles by Chandrayaan-1 (ISRO) in 2008–2009 renewed interest in the Moon.[14] A range of moonbases have been proposed by states and public actors. Currently the U.S.-led international Artemis program seeks to establish with private contractors a state run orbital lunar way-station in the late 2020s, and China proposed with Russia the so-called International Lunar Research Station to be established in the 2030s and aim for an Earth-Moon Space Economic Zone to develop by 2050.[15]

Current proposals mainly have the goal of exploration, but such proposals and projects have increasingly aimed for enabling exploitation or commercialization of the Moon. This move to exploitation has been criticized as colonialist and contrasted by proposals for conservation (e.g. by the organization For All Moonkind),[16] collaborative stewardship (e.g. by the organization Open Lunar Foundation, chaired by Chris Hadfield)[17] and the Declaration of the Rights of the Moon,[18] drawing on the concept of the Rights of Nature for a legal personality of non-human entities in space.[19]

## Missions

Inflatable module for lunar base.

States have explicitly refrained from calling for lunar colonization and particularly from laying any claims of territory on the Moon, in accordance with international bans on any such claims.[20]

States though have been pursuing the establishment of moonbases, the first being the temporary Tranquility Base of Apollo 11 in 1969, the first crewed mission on the Moon. Those and contemporary concepts and plans for moonbases have had the purpose to advance spaceflight and space exploration.

Contemporary plans for moonbases, such as the leading Artemis program and International Lunar Research Station projects, have supported in-situ resource utilization and therefore prospecting for lunar resources.[21] To complement the Artemis program private commercial space enterprise and services have been enabled and contracted.[22]

## Law

This section is an excerpt from Moon#Legal status[ edit ]

## Economic prospecting and development

Main articles: Astronomy:Lunar habitation, Lunar resources, Space-based economy, and Commercial use of space

For long-term sustainability, a space colony should be close to self-sufficient. Mining and refining the Moon's materials on-site – for use both on the Moon and elsewhere in the Solar System – could provide an advantage over deliveries from Earth, as they can be launched into space at a much lower energy cost than from Earth. It is possible that large amounts of cargo would need to be launched into space for interplanetary exploration in the 21st century, and the lower cost of providing goods from the Moon might be attractive.[23]

### Space-based materials processing

In the long term, the Moon will likely play an important role in supplying space-based construction facilities with raw materials.[24] Microgravity in space allows for the processing of materials in ways impossible or difficult on Earth, such as "foaming" metals, where a gas is injected into a molten metal, and then the metal is annealed slowly. On Earth, gas bubbles may rise or fall due to their relative density to air, but in a zero gravity environment this does not happen. The annealing process requires large amounts of energy, as a material is kept very hot for an extended period of time (allowing the molecular structure to realign), and this too may be more efficient in space, as the vacuum drastically reduces all heat transfer except through radiative heat loss.

### Exporting material to Earth

Exporting material to Earth in trade from the Moon is problematic due to the cost of transportation, which would vary greatly if the Moon is industrially developed. One suggested trade commodity is helium-3 (3He) which is carried by the solar wind and accumulated on the Moon's surface over billions of years, but occurs only rarely on Earth.[25] Helium-3 might be present in the lunar regolith in quantities of 0.01 ppm to 0.05 ppm (depending on soil). In 2006 it had a market price of about $1,500 per gram ($1.5M per kilogram), more than 120 times the value per unit weight of gold and over eight times the value of rhodium.

In the future 3He harvested from the Moon may have a role as a fuel in thermonuclear fusion reactors.[25][26] It should require about 100 metric tons (220,000 lb) of helium-3 to produce the electricity that Earth uses in a year and there should be enough on the Moon to provide that much for 10,000 years.[27]

In 2024, an American startup called Interlune announced plans to mine Helium on the Moon for export to Earth. The first mission plans to use NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program to arrive on the moon.[28]

### Exporting propellant obtained from lunar water

To reduce the cost of transport, the Moon could store propellants produced from lunar water at one or several depots between the Earth and the Moon, to resupply rockets or satellites in Earth orbit.[29]

#### Lunar water ice

Main article: Astronomy:Lunar water

File:LRO Peers into Permanent Shadows.oggVideo of the lunar south pole, showing areas of permanent shadow over several months (several lunar days)

Lunar scientists had discussed the possibility of water repositories for decades. They are now increasingly "confident that the decades-long debate is over" a report says. "The Moon, in fact, has water in all sorts of places; not just locked up in minerals, but scattered throughout the broken-up surface, and, potentially, in blocks or sheets of ice at depth." The results from the Chandrayaan mission are also "offering a wide array of watery signals."[30][31]

It is estimated there is at least 600 million tons of ice at the north pole in sheets of relatively pure ice at least a couple of meters thick.[32]

### Solar power satellites

Gerard K. O'Neill, noting the problem of high launch costs in the early 1970s, proposed building Solar Power Satellites in orbit with materials from the Moon.[33] Launch costs from the Moon would vary significantly if the Moon is industrially developed. This proposal was based on the contemporary estimates of future launch costs of the Space Shuttle.

On April 30, 1979, the Final Report "Lunar Resources Utilization for Space Construction" by General Dynamics Convair Division under NASA contract, NAS9-15560 concluded that the use of lunar resources would be cheaper than terrestrial materials for a system comprising as few as thirty Solar Power Satellites of 10 GW capacity each.[34]

In 1980, when NASA's launch cost estimates for the Space Shuttle were grossly optimistic, O'Neill et al. published another route to manufacturing using lunar materials with much lower startup costs.[35] This 1980s SPS concept relied less on human presence in space and more on partially self-replicating systems on the lunar surface under telepresence control of workers stationed on Earth.

## See also

* Aurora programme
* Colonization of Mars
* Human outpost
* In situ resource utilization
* Lunar Explorers Society
* Lunar Gateway
* Lunarcrete
* Lunarcy!
* Moon in fiction
* Moon landing
* Moon Society
* National Space Society
* NewSpace
* Planetary defense
* Planetary habitability
* Space architecture
* Space Frontier Foundation
* NASA lunar outpost concepts
* DARPA lunar programs
* Coordinated Lunar Time

## References

Notes

1. ↑ Marc Ferro (1997). Colonization. Routledge. p. 1. doi:10.4324/9780203992586. ISBN 9780203992586. "Colonization is associated with the occupation of a foreign land, with its being brought under cultivation, with the settlement of colonists. If this definition of the term “colony” is used, the phenomenon dates from the Greek period. Likewise we speak of Athenian, then Roman 'imperialism'."
2. ↑ "Japan vs. NASA in the Next Space Race: Lunar Robonauts". Fast Company. May 28, 2010. https://www.fastcompany.com/1653562/japan-robots-moon-base-robonaut-nasa-jaxa-lunar-rockets-constellation.
3. ↑ "SOLAR SYSTEM EXPLORATION RESEARCH". http://sservi.nasa.gov/articles/japan-plans-2-billion-robot-moon-base-by-2020/.
4. ↑ Wall, Mike (October 25, 2019). "Bill Nye: It's Space Settlement, Not Colonization". https://www.space.com/bill-nye-space-settlement-not-colonization.html.
5. ↑ Rothwell, Donald R.; Saunders, Imogen (July 25, 2019). "Does a US flag on the Moon amount to a claim of sovereignty under law?". https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/does-us-flag-moon-amount-claim-sovereignty.
6. ↑ Davies, Rob (February 6, 2016). "Asteroid mining could be space's new frontier: the problem is doing it legally". https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/feb/06/asteroid-mining-space-minerals-legal-issues.
7. ↑ Haskins, Caroline (August 14, 2018). "THE RACIST LANGUAGE OF SPACE EXPLORATION". https://theoutline.com/post/5809/the-racist-language-of-space-exploration?zd=3&zi=v4x73sgl.
8. ↑ Johnson, S. W.; Leonard, R. S. (1985). "Evolution of Concepts for Lunar Bases" (in en-us). Lunar Bases and Space Activities of the 21st Century. Houston, Texas: Lunar and Planetary Institute. p. 48. Bibcode: 1985lbsa.conf...47J.
9. ↑ Capelotti, P.J. (2014). The Human Archaeology of Space: Lunar, Planetary and Interstellar Relics of Exploration. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. p. 44. ISBN 978-0-7864-5994-0. https://books.google.com/books?id=98qFL5AYIjQC&pg=PA44. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Can any State claim a part of outer space as its own?". United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/FAQ/splawfaq.html#Q6.
11. ↑ "How many States have signed and ratified the five international treaties governing outer space?". United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. January 1, 2006. http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/FAQ/splawfaq.html#Q4.
12. ↑ "Do the five international treaties regulate military activities in outer space?". United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/FAQ/splawfaq.html#Q5.
13. ↑ "Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies". United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/SpaceLaw/moon.html.
14. ↑ Alvarez, Tamara (January 1, 2020). The Eighth Continent: An Ethnography of Twenty-First Century Euro-American Plans to Settle the Moon (Thesis). p. 59\. Archived from the original on February 5, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
15. ↑ Pillow, Liz (February 16, 2020). "From a farside first to cislunar dominance? China appears to want to establish 'space economic zone' worth trillions". https://spacenews.com/from-a-farside-first-to-cislunar-dominance-china-appears-to-want-to-establish-space-economic-zone-worth-trillions/.
16. ↑ "Moonkind – Human Heritage in Outer Space". https://www.forallmoonkind.org/moonkind-mission/human-heritage-in-outer-space/.
17. ↑ "What we do on the Moon can transform how we live on Earth. It starts with community.". May 8, 2023. https://www.openlunar.org/library/it-starts-with-community.
18. ↑ "Declaration of the Rights of the Moon". Australian Earth Laws Alliance. February 11, 2021. https://www.earthlaws.org.au/moon-declaration/.
19. ↑ Tepper, Eytan; Whitehead, Christopher (December 1, 2018). "Moon, Inc.: The New Zealand Model of Granting Legal Personality to Natural Resources Applied to Space". New Space 6 (4): 288–298. doi:10.1089/space.2018.0025. ISSN 2168-0256. Bibcode: 2018NewSp...6..288T. https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/space.2018.0025.
20. ↑ Smith, Kiona N. (Jul 20, 2019). "How Apollo 11 Raised The Flag on the Moon, And What It Means Today". https://www.forbes.com/sites/kionasmith/2019/07/20/how-apollo-11-raised-the-flag-on-the-moon-and-what-it-means-today/.
21. ↑ "International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) Guide for Partnership". CNSA. June 16, 2021. http://www.cnsa.gov.cn/english/n6465652/n6465653/c6812150/content.html.
22. ↑ FoustMonday, Jeff (2024-11-25). "The Space Review: The search for a commercial lunar economy". https://www.thespacereview.com/article/4898/1.
23. ↑ Tung Dju (T. D.) Lin, cited via James, Barry (February 13, 1992). "On Moon, Concrete Digs?". International Herald Tribune. http://www.iht.com/articles/1992/02/13/moon.php.
24. ↑ "Lunar base". RussianSpaceWeb.com. http://www.russianspaceweb.com/lunar_base.html.
25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Mark Williams Pontin, Mining the Moon. MIT Technology Review. August 23, 2007.
26. ↑ "FTI Research". http://fti.neep.wisc.edu/research/he3.
27. ↑ Kazmi, Shameem. "Moon Mining: Myth or reality?". earthtimes.org. http://www.earthtimes.org/energy/moon-mining-myth-reality/2201/.
28. ↑ Eaton, Kit (March 14, 2024). "Space Startup Interlune Emerges From Stealth Mode to Start Moon Mining Effort". Inc. https://www.inc.com/kit-eaton/space-startup-interlune-emerges-from-stealth-mode-to-start-moon-mining-effort.html.
29. ↑ Spudis, Paul D.; Lavoie, Anthony R. (September 29, 2011). "Using the resources of the Moon to create a permanent, cislunar space faring system". AIAA Space 2011 Conference & Exposition 1646: 80. Bibcode: 2011LPICo1646...80S. http://www.spudislunarresources.com/Bibliography/p/102.pdf.
30. ↑ "It's not lunacy, probes find water in Moon dirt". USA Today. September 23, 2009. https://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2009-09-23-moon-water_N.htm.
31. ↑ "Water discovered on Moon?: "A lot of it actually"". The Hindu. September 23, 2009. http://www.hindu.com/2009/09/23/stories/2009092357770100.htm.
32. ↑ Bill Keeter: NASA Radar Finds Ice Deposits at Moon's North Pole – Additional evidence of water activity on moon . National Aeronautics and Space Administration, March 2, 2010, retrieved June 27, 2011
33. ↑ O'Neill, Gerard K. (1977). The High Frontier, Human Colonies in Space. Apogee Books. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-688-03133-6.
34. ↑ General Dynamics Convair Division (1979). Lunar Resources Utilization for Space Construction. GDC-ASP79-001. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19830077470_1983077470.pdf.
35. ↑ O'Neill, Gerard K.; Driggers, G.; O'Leary, B. (October 1980). "New Routes to Manufacturing in Space". Astronautics and Aeronautics 18: 46–51. Bibcode: 1980AsAer..18...46G.

General references

* Peter Eckart (2006). The Lunar Base Handbook, 2nd edition. McGraw-Hill. pp. 820. ISBN 978-0-07-329444-5.
* Wendell Mendell, ed (1986). Lunar bases and space activities of the 21st century. Lunar and Planetary Institute. pp. 865. ISBN 978-0-942862-02-7. http://ads.harvard.edu/books/lbsa/.
* G. Jeffrey Taylor (December 23, 2004). "Cosmochemistry and Human Exploration". Planetary Science Research Discoveries. http://www.psrd.hawaii.edu/Dec04/spaceResources.html.
* G. Jeffrey Taylor (November 21, 2000). "Mining the Moon, Mars, and Asteroids". Planetary Science Research Discoveries. http://www.psrd.hawaii.edu/Nov00/mining.html.

## Further reading

* Resource Utilization Concepts for MoonMars; ByIris Fleischer, Olivia Haider, Morten W. Hansen, Robert Peckyno, Daniel Rosenberg and Robert E. Guinness; September 30, 2003; IAC Bremen, 2003 (Sept 29 – October 3, 2003) and MoonMars Workshop (Sep 26–28, 2003, Bremen). Accessed on January 18, 2010.
* Seedhouse, Erik (2009). Lunar Outpost: The Challenges of Establishing Human Settlements on the Moon. Springer. ISBN 978-0-387-09746-6. https://books.google.com/books?id=ZJm_i3GS4r4C. Publisher's book page.
* Thangavelu, Madhu; Schrunk, David G.; Sharpe, Burton; Cooper, Bonnie L. (2008). The Moon: resources, future development, and settlement (2nd ed.). Springer. ISBN 978-0-387-36055-3.

## External links

* "The Clementine bistatic radar experiment". Science 274 (5292): 1495–8. November 1996. doi:10.1126/science.274.5292.1495. PMID 8929403. Bibcode: 1996Sci...274.1495N.
* NASA Ames Research Center Eureka! Ice found at Lunar Poles. Retrieved December 18, 2004.
* Cornell News Arecibo radar shows no evidence of thick ice at lunar poles (...). Retrieved December 18, 2004.
* NASA Johnson Space Centre Liftoff! Moon Base Alpha. Last checked January 20, 2005.
* Encyclopedia Astronautica Subcategory: – Manned – Lunar rover. Retrieved December 20, 2004.
* The vision for space exploration , NASA.
* How Stuff Works – What if we lived on the moon? Retrieved March 15, 2007.
* Wiki devoted to the return to the Moon – Lunarpedia.
* OpenLuna Foundation OpenLuna.org.
* Elements of a south polar lunar settlement [1].
* Building a lunar base with 3D printing (ESA).
* Moon Storage: One Small Space For Man, One Giant Space For Mankind Moon Storage Infographic. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
* Researchers are ramping up plans for living on the Moon.

* v
* t
* e

Colonization of the Moon

American projects|

* Project Horizon (1960s)
* Lunex Project (1960s)
* Apollo Lunar Base (1970s)
* JSC Moon Base (1980s)
* Lunox (1990s)
* Lunar Outpost (2000s)

Soviet and
Russian projects|

* Zvezda moonbase (1960s)
* KLE Complex Lunar Expedition (1970s)
* L3M (1970s)
* Lunar Expeditionary Complex (1970s)
* Energia Lunar Expedition (1980s)
* Luna-Glob (2030s)

Other projects|

* "Man Will Conquer Space Soon!" (1950s)
* Artemis Project (1990s)
* Human Lunar Return (1990s)
* Chinese Lunar Base (2030s)
* JAXA Moon Base (2030s)

Proposed sites|

* Sinus Roris
* Eratosthenes
* Sinus Medii
* Montes Apenninus
* Kepler
* Shackleton
* Peary

* Exploration of the Moon
* Tourism on the Moon

* v
* t
* e

The Moon

Physical
properties|

* Internal structure
* Topography
* Atmosphere
* Gravity field
* Hill sphere
* Magnetic field
* Sodium tail
* Moonlight
* Earthshine

Orbit|

* Lunar distance
* Orbital elements
* Distance
* Perigee and apogee
* Libration
* Nodes
* Nodal period
* Precession
* Syzygy
* New moon
* Full moon
* Eclipses
* Lunar eclipse
* Total penumbral lunar eclipse
* Tetrad
* Solar eclipse
* Solar eclipses on the Moon
* Eclipse cycle
* Supermoon
* Tide
* Tidal force
* Tidal locking
* Tidal acceleration
* Tidal range
* Lunar station

Surface and
features|

* Selenography
* Terminator
* Hemispheres
* Near side
* Far side
* Poles
* North pole
* South pole
* Face
* Maria
* List
* Mountains
* Peak of eternal light
* Valleys
* Volcanic features
* Domes
* Calderas
* Lava tubes
* Craters
* List
* Ray systems
* Crater of eternal darkness
* South Pole–Aitken basin
* Soil
* Swirls
* Rilles
* Wrinkle ridges
* Rocks
* Lunar basalt 70017
* Water
* Space weathering
* Micrometeorite
* Sputtering
* Quakes
* Transient lunar phenomenon

Science|

* Observation
* Libration
* Lunar theory
* Origin
* Giant-impact hypothesis
* Theia
* Lunar magma ocean
* Geology
* Timescale
* Late Heavy Bombardment
* Lunar meteorites
* KREEP
* Experiments
* Lunar laser ranging
* ALSEP
* Lunar sample displays
* Apollo 11
* Apollo 17
* Lunar seismology

Exploration|

* Missions
* Apollo program
* Probes
* Landing
* Colonization
* Tourism
* Lunar resources

Time-telling and
navigation|

* Lunar calendar
* Lunisolar calendar
* Month
* Lunar month
* Nodal period
* Fortnight
* Sennight
* Lunar station
* Lunar distance

Phases and
names|

* New
* Full
* Names
* Crescent
* Super and micro
* Blood
* Blue
* Black
* Dark
* Wet
* Tetrad

Related|

* Lunar effect
* Moon illusion
* Pareidolia
* Man in the Moon
* Moon rabbit
* Craters named after people
* Artificial objects on the Moon
* Memorials on the Moon
* Moon in fiction
* Moon landing conspiracy theories
* Moon Treaty
* Moon in mythology
* Hjúki and Bil
* "Moon is made of green cheese"
* Natural satellite
* Double planet
* Lilith (hypothetical second moon)

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Spacecraft missions to the Moon

Exploration
programs|

* American
* Apollo
* Artemis
* Commercial Lunar Payload Services
* Lunar Orbiter
* Lunar Precursor
* Pioneer
* Ranger
* Surveyor
* Chinese (Chang'e)
* Indian (Chandrayaan)
* Japanese
* Russian
* Luna-Glob
* Soviet
* Crewed
* Luna
* Lunokhod
* Zond

Active
missions|

| Orbiters|

* ARTEMIS
* Chang'e 5-T1 (service module)
* Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
* Queqiao (relay satellite at L2)
* Chandrayaan-2

|

Landers|

* Chang'e 3
* Chang'e 4

Rovers|

* Yutu-2

Past
missions|

| Crewed landings|

* Apollo 11
* 12
* 14
* 15
* 16
* 17
* (List of Apollo astronauts)

|

Orbiters|

* Apollo 8
* 10
* Apollo Lunar Module
* Chang'e 1
* 2
* Chandrayaan-1
* Clementine
* Explorer 35
* 49
* GRAIL
* Hiten
* LADEE
* Longjiang-2
* Luna 10
* 11
* 12
* 14
* 19
* 22
* Lunar Orbiter 1
* 2
* 3
* 4
* 5
* Lunar Prospector
* PFS-1
* PFS-2
* SMART-1
* SELENE (Kaguya, Okina, Ouna)

Impactors|

* LCROSS
* Luna 2
* Moon Impact Probe
* Ranger 4
* 6
* 7
* 8
* 9

Landers|

* Apollo Lunar Module ×6
* Luna 9
* 13
* 16
* 17
* 20
* 21
* 23
* 24
* Surveyor 1
* 3
* 5
* 6
* 7

Rovers|

* Lunar Roving Vehicle
* Apollo 15
* 16
* 17
* Lunokhod 1
* 2
* Yutu

Sample return|

* Apollo 11
* 12
* 14
* 15
* 16
* 17
* Luna 16
* 20
* 24

Failed landings|

* Surveyor 2
* 4
* Luna 5
* 7
* 8
* 15
* 18
* Beresheet
* Vikram / Pragyan

Flybys|

* 4M
* Apollo 13
* AsiaSat-3 / HGS-1
* Chang'e 5-T1 / Xiaofei
* Geotail
* ICE
* Longjiang-1
* Luna 1
* 3
* 4
* 6
* Mariner 10
* Nozomi
* Pioneer 4
* Ranger 5
* STEREO
* TESS
* WMAP
* WIND
* Zond 3
* 5
* 6
* 7
* 8
* PAS-22

Planned
missions|

| Artemis|

* Artemis 1 (2020)
* ArgoMoon
* BioSentinel
* Cislunar Explorers
* CU-E3
* CuSP
* EQUULEUS
* LunaH-Map
* Lunar Flashlight
* Lunar IceCube
* NEA Scout
* OMOTENASHI
* SkyFire
* Team Miles
* Artemis 2 (2022)
* Artemis 3 (2024)
* Artemis 4 (2025)
* Artemis 5 (2026)
* Artemis 6 (2027)
* Artemis 7 (2028)
* Artemis 8 (2028)

|

CLPS|

* CAPSTONE (December 2020)
* Nova-C (2021)
* Peregrine M1 (Jul 2021)
* VIPER (2022)

Luna-Glob|

* Luna 25 (2021)
* Luna 26 (2024)
* Luna 27 (2025)
* Luna 28 (2027)
* Luna 29 (2028)
* Luna 30 (2028)
* Luna 31 (2028)

CLEP|

* Chang'e 5 (mid-2020)
* Chang'e 6 (2023–2024)
* Chang'e 7 (2023)
* Chang'e 8 (2027)

Others|

* Moon Express Lunar Scout (Jul 2020)
* International Lunar Observatory
* MoonLIGHT
* ALINA (2021)
* CubeRover
* Uni
* Hakuto-R M1 (Oct 2021)
* MoonRanger (2022)
* SLIM (Jan 2022)
* KPLO (Jul 2022)
* DESTINY+ (2022)
* Hakuto-R M2 (Mar 2023)
* #dearMoon project (2023)

Proposed
missions|

| Robotic|

* Chandrayaan-3 (November 2020)
* Lunar Polar Exploration Mission (2024)
* Artemis-7
* Blue Moon
* BOLAS
* Garatéa-L
* ISOCHRON
* Lunar Pathfinder
* McCandless
* Moon Diver
* XL-1

|

Crewed|

* DSE-Alpha
* Lunar Gateway (Lockheed Martin Lunar Lander)
* Lunar Orbital Station

Cancelled /
concepts|

* Altair
* Baden-Württemberg 1
* European Lunar Explorer
* International Lunar Network
* LEO
* LK
* Lunar-A
* Lunar Lander
* Lunar Mission One
* Lunar Observer
* Lunokhod 3
* MoonLITE
* MoonRise
* Prospector
* Resource Prospector
* SELENE-2
* Ukrselena

See also|

* Colonization of the Moon
* Google Lunar X Prize
* List of lunar probes
* List of missions to the Moon
* List of artificial objects on the Moon
* Lunar resources
* Apollo 17 Moon mice
* Moon landing conspiracy theories
* Apollo 11 anniversaries
* List of crewed lunar lander designs

* Missions are ordered by launch date. Crewed missions are in italics.

Space colonization

* Solar System
* Inner
* Mercury
* Venus
* Earth
* Moon
* Lagrange points
* Mars
* Phobos
* Deimos
* Asteroid mining
* Free space
* Outer
* Jupiter
* Io
* Europa
* Ganymede
* Callisto
* Saturn
* Titan
* Uranus
* Neptune
* Colonization of Triton
* Trans-Neptunian objects

This box: view * talk * edit

0.00

(0 votes)

Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonization of the Moon. Read more

|

Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Astronomy:Colonization_of_the_Moon&oldid=3930481"
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template