Home Sweet Lunar Home

Settlers of new areas have always built homes using whatever was available. In the American experience, for example, that has meant log cabins in wooded areas, soddies on the Great Plains, and adobe structures in the Southwest. Homes on the Moon will follow that pattern.

Preparation for establishing a base on the Moon is already moving ahead. Scientists are looking at how to build lunar habitats using lunar resources. One group has come up with a way to "dig" lunar regolith by forcing gas into the ground, thus lifting dirt out. That dirt could be turned into building material, but there's a simpler way to use it.

Perhaps the single biggest obstacle to settling the Moon is the danger to humans posed by radiation. Fortunately, simple dirt is a good shield; the more dirt, the better the protection against radiation. So, imagine a Bigelow Aerospace inflatable module on the lunar surface-- or several connected together and fully deployed. Using the above digging technique, copious amounts of regolith from the area immediately around the modules could be thrown onto the habitat, creating radiation shielding feet thck, if needed. Dig out the doorways, and we'd be well on the way to establishing a lunar outpost.