Colonization of the Moon

Settlement on the Moon

NASA 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]

## History

[edit]

Further information: Exploration of the Moon, Moon § Human presence, and Space colonization

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

[edit]

Further information: Moonbase and Space advocacy

Inflatable module for lunar base.

The colonization of the Moon has been pursued and advocated for by a range of civil actors and space advocacy groups since the advent of spaceflight, mainly to establish a permanent human presence and settlement on the Moon.[citation needed]

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

[edit]

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

Although 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, no nation claims ownership of any part of the Moon's surface.[23] Likewise no private ownership of parts of the Moon, or as a whole, is considered credible.[24][25][26]

The 1967 Outer Space Treaty defines the Moon and all outer space as the "province of all mankind".[23] It restricts the use of the Moon to peaceful purposes, explicitly banning military installations and weapons of mass destruction.[27] A majority of countries are parties of this treaty.[28] The 1979 Moon Agreement was created to elaborate, and restrict the exploitation of the Moon's resources by any single nation, leaving it to a yet unspecified international regulatory regime.[29] As of January 2020, it has been signed and ratified by 18 nations,[30] none of which have human spaceflight capabilities.

Since 2020, countries have joined the U.S. in their Artemis Accords, which are challenging the treaty. The U.S. has furthermore emphasized in a presidential executive order ("Encouraging International Support for the Recovery and Use of Space Resources.") that "the United States does not view outer space as a 'global commons'" and calls the Moon Agreement "a failed attempt at constraining free enterprise."[31][32]

With Australia signing and ratifying both the Moon Treaty in 1986 as well as the Artemis Accords in 2020, there has been a discussion if they can be harmonized.[33] In this light an Implementation Agreement for the Moon Treaty has been advocated for, as a way to compensate for the shortcomings of the Moon Treaty and to harmonize it with other laws and agreements such as the Artemis Accords, allowing it to be more widely accepted.[34][35]

In the face of such increasing commercial and national interest, particularly prospecting territories, U.S. lawmakers have introduced in late 2020 specific regulation for the conservation of historic landing sites[36] and interest groups have argued for making such sites World Heritage Sites[37] and zones of scientific value protected zones, all of which add to the legal availability and territorialization of the Moon.[38]

In 2021, the Declaration of the Rights of the Moon[39] was created by a group of "lawyers, space archaeologists and concerned citizens", drawing on precedents in the Rights of Nature movement and the concept of legal personality for non-human entities in space.[40][41]

## Economic prospecting and development

[edit]

Main articles: 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.[42]

### Space-based materials processing

[edit]

In the long term, the Moon will likely play an important role in supplying space-based construction facilities with raw materials.[43] 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

[edit]

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.[44] 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.[44][45] 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.[46]

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.[47]

### Exporting propellant obtained from lunar water

[edit]

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.[48]

#### Lunar water ice

[edit]

Main article: Lunar water

Video 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."[49][50]

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.[51]

### Solar power satellites

[edit]

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.[52] 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.[53]

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.[54] 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

[edit]

* Spaceflight portal
* Solar System portal

* 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

[edit]

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. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
3. ^ "SOLAR SYSTEM EXPLORATION RESEARCH". Retrieved August 11, 2017.
4. ^ Wall, Mike (October 25, 2019). "Bill Nye: It's Space Settlement, Not Colonization". Space.com. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
5. ^ Rothwell, Donald R.; Saunders, Imogen (July 25, 2019). "Does a US flag on the Moon amount to a claim of sovereignty under law?". Lowy Institute. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
6. ^ Davies, Rob (February 6, 2016). "Asteroid mining could be space's new frontier: the problem is doing it legally". The Guardian.
7. ^ Haskins, Caroline (August 14, 2018). "THE RACIST LANGUAGE OF SPACE EXPLORATION". Retrieved November 1, 2020.
8. ^ Johnson, S. W.; Leonard, R. S. (1985). "Evolution of Concepts for Lunar Bases". 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. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
10. ^ a b "Can any State claim a part of outer space as its own?". United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. Archived from the original on April 21, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
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. Archived from the original on April 21, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
12. ^ "Do the five international treaties regulate military activities in outer space?". United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. Archived from the original on April 21, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
13. ^ "Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies". United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. Archived from the original on August 9, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
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". SpaceNews. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
16. ^ "Moonkind – Human Heritage in Outer Space". For All Moonkind. Archived from the original on November 1, 2021. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
17. ^ "What we do on the Moon can transform how we live on Earth. It starts with community". Open Lunar Foundation. May 8, 2023. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
18. ^ "Declaration of the Rights of the Moon". Australian Earth Laws Alliance. February 11, 2021. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
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\. Bibcode:2018NewSp...6..288T. doi:10.1089/space.2018.0025. ISSN 2168-0256. S2CID 158616075.
20. ^ Smith, Kiona N. (July 20, 2019). "How Apollo 11 Raised The Flag on the Moon, And What It Means Today". Forbes. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
21. ^ "International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) Guide for Partnership". CNSA. June 16, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
22. ^ FoustMonday, Jeff (November 25, 2024). "The Space Review: The search for a commercial lunar economy". The Space Review. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
23. ^ a b "Can any State claim a part of outer space as its own?". United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. Archived from the original on April 21, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
24. ^ "The treaties control space-related activities of States. What about non-governmental entities active in outer space, like companies and even individuals?". United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. Archived from the original on April 21, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
25. ^ "Statement by the Board of Directors of the IISL On Claims to Property Rights Regarding The Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (2004)" (PDF). International Institute of Space Law. 2004. Archived from the original on December 22, 2009. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
26. ^ "Further Statement by the Board of Directors of the IISL On Claims to Lunar Property Rights (2009)" (PDF). International Institute of Space Law. March 22, 2009. Archived from the original on December 22, 2009. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
27. ^ "Do the five international treaties regulate military activities in outer space?". United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. Archived from the original on April 21, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
28. ^ "How many States have signed and ratified the five international treaties governing outer space?". United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. January 1, 2006. Archived from the original on April 21, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
29. ^ "The Space Review: Is outer space a de jure common-pool resource?". The Space Review. October 25, 2021. Archived from the original on November 2, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
30. ^ "Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies". United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. Archived from the original on August 9, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
31. ^ Vazhapully, Kiran (July 22, 2020). "Space Law at the Crossroads: Contextualizing the Artemis Accords and the Space Resources Executive Order". OpinioJuris. Archived from the original on May 10, 2021. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
32. ^ "Administration Statement on Executive Order on Encouraging International Support for the Recovery and Use of Space Resources" (Press release). White House. April 6, 2020. Archived from the original on February 1, 2024. Retrieved June 17, 2020 - via SpaceRef.
33. ^ "Australia Between the Moon Agreement and the Artemis Accords". Australian Institute of International Affairs. June 2, 2021. Archived from the original on February 1, 2022. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
34. ^ "The Space Review: The Artemis Accords: repeating the mistakes of the Age of Exploration". The Space Review. June 29, 2020. Archived from the original on January 25, 2022. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
35. ^ "The Space Treaty Institute – Dedicated to Peace and Sustainability in Outer Space. Our Mission: To give people Hope and Inspiration by helping the nations of Earth to build a Common Future". The Space Treaty Institute – Dedicated to Peace and Sustainability in Outer Space. Our Mission. Archived from the original on February 1, 2022. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
36. ^ "'One Small Step' Act Encourages Protection of Human Heritage in Space". HowStuffWorks. January 12, 2021. Archived from the original on November 1, 2021. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
37. ^ "Moonkind – Human Heritage in Outer Space". For All Moonkind. Archived from the original on November 1, 2021. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
38. ^ Alvarez, Tamara (January 1, 2020). The Eighth Continent: An Ethnography of Twenty-First Century Euro-American Plans to Settle the Moon (Thesis). p. 109-115, 164–167, 176. Archived from the original on February 5, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
39. ^ "Declaration of the Rights of the Moon". Australian Earth Laws Alliance. February 11, 2021. Archived from the original on April 23, 2021. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
40. ^ 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\. Bibcode:2018NewSp...6..288T. doi:10.1089/space.2018.0025. ISSN 2168-0256. S2CID 158616075. Archived from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
41. ^ Evans, Kate (July 20, 2021). "Hear Ye! Hear Ye! A Declaration of the Rights of the Moon". Eos. Archived from the original on February 6, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
42. ^ Tung Dju (T. D.) Lin, cited via James, Barry (February 13, 1992). "On Moon, Concrete Digs?". International Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on November 24, 2006. Retrieved December 24, 2006.
43. ^ "Lunar base". RussianSpaceWeb.com. Retrieved December 24, 2006.
44. ^ a b Mark Williams Pontin, Mining the Moon. MIT Technology Review. August 23, 2007.
45. ^ "FTI Research". Archived from the original on June 9, 2010. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
46. ^ Kazmi, Shameem. "Moon Mining: Myth or reality?". earthtimes.org. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
47. ^ Eaton, Kit (March 14, 2024). "Space Startup Interlune Emerges From Stealth Mode to Start Moon Mining Effort". Inc.
48. ^ Spudis, Paul D.; Lavoie, Anthony R. (September 29, 2011). "Using the resources of the Moon to create a permanent, cislunar space faring system" (PDF). AIAA Space 2011 Conference & Exposition. 1646: 80. Bibcode:2011LPICo1646...80S.
49. ^ "It's not lunacy, probes find water in Moon dirt". USA Today. September 23, 2009. Retrieved September 26, 2009.
50. ^ "Water discovered on Moon?: "A lot of it actually"". The Hindu. September 23, 2009. Archived from the original on September 26, 2009. Retrieved September 26, 2009.
51. ^ Bill Keeter: NASA Radar Finds Ice Deposits at Moon's North Pole – Additional evidence of water activity on moon Archived September 21, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, March 2, 2010, retrieved June 27, 2011
52. ^ O'Neill, Gerard K. (1977). The High Frontier, Human Colonies in Space. Apogee Books. p. 57\. ISBN 978-0-688-03133-6.
53. ^ General Dynamics Convair Division (1979). Lunar Resources Utilization for Space Construction (PDF). GDC-ASP79-001.
54. ^ 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. p. 820\. ISBN 978-0-07-329444-5.
* Wendell Mendell, ed. (1986). Lunar bases and space activities of the 21st century. Lunar and Planetary Institute. p. 865\. ISBN 978-0-942862-02-7.
* G. Jeffrey Taylor (December 23, 2004). "Cosmochemistry and Human Exploration". Planetary Science Research Discoveries.
* G. Jeffrey Taylor (November 21, 2000). "Mining the Moon, Mars, and Asteroids". Planetary Science Research Discoveries.

## Further reading

[edit]

* 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. 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

[edit]

Wikiversity has learning resources about Lunar Boom Town

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Colonization of the Moon.

* Nozette S, et al. (November 1996). "The Clementine bistatic radar experiment". Science. 274 (5292): 1495–8\. Bibcode:1996Sci...274.1495N. doi:10.1126/science.274.5292.1495. hdl:2060/19970023672. PMID 8929403.
* 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 Archived February 11, 2021, at the Wayback Machine, 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)
* Artemis Base Camp (2030s)

Soviet and
Russian projects|

* Zvezda moonbase (1960s)
* KLE Complex Lunar Expedition (1970s)
* L3M (1970s)
* Lunar Expeditionary Complex (1970s)
* Energia Lunar Expedition (1980s)
* Lunny Poligon (2030s)

Chinese and
Russian project|

* International Lunar Research Station (late 2020s)

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

Related|

* Moonbase

* Exploration of the Moon
* Tourism on the Moon

* v
* t
* e

Moon

Outline

Physical
properties|

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

Orbit|

* 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
* Limb
* 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
* Permanently shadowed craters
* South Pole–Aitken basin
* Regolith
* swirls
* Rilles
* Wrinkle ridges
* Rocks
* Lunar basalt 70017
* Changesite-(Y)
* Water
* Space weathering
* Micrometeorite
* Sputtering
* Quakes
* Transient lunar phenomenon
* Selenographic coordinate system

Science|

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

Exploration|

* Missions
* Apollo program
* Explorers
* Probes
* Landing
* Colonization
* Moonbase
* 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

Daily phenomena|

* Moonrise
* Meridian passage
* Moonset

Related|

* Lunar deities
* Lunar effect
* Earth phase
* Moon illusion
* Pareidolia
* Man in the Moon
* Moon rabbit
* Craters named after people
* Artificial objects on the Moon
* Memorials on the Moon
* Moon in science fiction
* list
* Apollo era
* futuristic exploration
* Hollow Moon
* Moon landing conspiracy theories
* Moon Treaty
* "Moon is made of green cheese"
* Natural satellite
* Double planet
* Lilith (hypothetical second moon)
* Splitting of the Moon

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Spacecraft missions to the Moon

Exploration
programs|

* American
* Apollo
* Artemis
* CLPS
* Lunar Orbiter
* Lunar Precursor
* Pioneer
* Ranger
* Surveyor
* Chinese
* Chang'e
* Indian
* Chandrayaan
* Japanese
* Japanese Lunar Exploration Program
* South Korean
* Korean Lunar Exploration Program
* Russian
* Luna-Glob
* Soviet
* Crewed
* Luna
* Lunokhod
* Zond

Active
missions|

| Orbiters|

* ARTEMIS
* CAPSTONE
* Chandrayaan-2
* Chang'e 5-T1
* Danuri
* Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
* Queqiao 1 and 2
* Tiandu-1
* 2
* ICUBE-Q

|

Landers|

* Chang'e 4

Rovers|

* Yutu-2

Flybys|

* ArgoMoon

Past
missions|

| Crewed landings|

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

|

Orbiters|

* Apollo 8
* 10
* Artemis I
* Chang'e 1
* 2
* 5
* Chandrayaan-1
* 3
* 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)
* Lunar Trailblazer

Impactors|

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

Landers|

* Apollo Lunar Module ×6
* Blue Ghost M1
* Chandrayaan-3
* Chang'e 3
* Chang'e 5
* 6
* Luna 9
* 13
* 16
* 17
* 20
* 21
* 23
* 24
* SLIM
* Surveyor 1
* 3
* 5
* 6
* 7

Rovers|

* Lunar Roving Vehicle
* Apollo 15
* 16
* 17
* Lunokhod 1
* 2
* Yutu
* Pragyan 2
* 3
* LEV-1
* LEV-2 (Sora-Q)
* Jinchan
* Yaoki
* MAPP
* Micro-Nova
* AstroAnt

Sample return|

* Apollo 11
* 12
* 14
* 15
* 16
* 17
* Luna 16
* 20
* 24
* Chang'e 5
* 6

Failed landings|

* Beresheet
* Emirates Lunar Mission
* Hakuto-R M1
* M2
* IM-1
* 2
* Luna 5
* 7
* 8
* 15
* 18
* 25
* OMOTENASHI
* Surveyor 2
* 4
* Vikram
* Peregrine

Flybys|

* 4M
* Apollo 13
* Chang'e 5-T1
* Geotail
* Galileo
* ICE
* Longjiang-1
* Luna 1
* 3
* 4
* 6
* LunaH-Map
* Lunar Flashlight
* Lunar IceCube
* LunIR
* Mariner 10
* NEA Scout
* Nozomi
* Pioneer 4
* Ranger 5
* STEREO
* TESS
* WMAP
* Wind
* Zond 3
* 5
* 6
* 7
* 8
* PAS-22

Planned
missions|

| Artemis|

* II (2026)
* III (2027)
* IV (2028)
* V (2030)
* Lunar Gateway

|

CLPS|

* Blue Moon Pathfinder (2025)
* Griffin M1 (2025)
* IM-3 (2026)
* Blue Ghost M2 (2026)
* M3 (2028)
* IM-4 (TBD)

Luna-Glob|

* 26 (2027)
* 27 (2028)
* 28 (2030)
* 29 (2030s)
* 30 (2030s)
* 31 (2030s)

CLEP|

* Chang'e 7 (2026)
* 8 (2028)

Chandrayaan|

* 4 (2027)
* 5 (LUPEX) (2028)

KLEP|

* Korean lunar lander (2032)

Others|

* ispace M3 (2026)
* Lunar Pathfinder (2026)
* DESTINY+ (2028)
* Cislunar Explorers (2020s)
* CU-E3 (2020s)
* MoonRanger (2020s)
* Argonaut M1 (2031)
* International Lunar Research Station (2030s)

Proposed
missions|

| Robotic|

* ALINA
* Artemis-7
* Beresheet 2
* Blue Moon
* BOLAS
* Garatéa-L
* ISOCHRON
* LunaNet
* Lunar Crater Radio Telescope
* McCandless
* Moon Diver

|

Crewed|

* DSE-Alpha
* Boeing Lunar Lander
* Lockheed Martin Lunar Lander
* Lunar Orbital Station

Cancelled /
concepts|

* Altair
* Baden-Württemberg 1
* #dearMoon project
* European Lunar Explorer
* First Lunar Outpost
* International Lunar Network
* LEO
* LK
* Lunar-A
* Lunar Lander
* Lunar Mission One
* Lunar Observer
* Lunokhod 3
* MoonLITE
* MoonRise
* OrbitBeyond
* Project Harvest Moon
* Prospector
* Resource Prospector
* SELENE-2
* Ukrselena
* XL-1
* VIPER

Related|

* 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
* List of species that have landed on the Moon
* Lunar resources
* Apollo 17 Moon mice
* Moon landing conspiracy theories
* Third-party evidence for Apollo Moon landings
* Apollo 11 anniversaries
* List of crewed lunar landers

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

* v
* t
* e

Space colonization

Core concepts|

* Interplanetary spaceflight
* Interstellar travel
* Intergalactic travel
* Planetary habitability
* Space and survival
* Space settlement
* Terraforming

Space habitats|

* Bishop Ring
* McKendree cylinder
* O'Neill cylinder
* Stanford torus

Colonization targets|

* Lagrange points
* Solar System
* Mercury
* Venus
* Mars
* Asteroids
* mining
* Moon
* Titan
* Trans-Neptunian objects
* Free space

Terraforming targets|

* Mars
* Venus
* Europa

Organizations|

* Mars Society
* NASA
* National Space Society
* SpaceX
* The Planetary Society

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