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From the Russians' attempt to colonise the Moon to eccentric plans for Mars.Key facts
- The longest anyone has ever stayed on the Moon is 75 hours.
- Helium-3 is rare on Earth but can be processed from Moon soil, to provide huge amounts of energy.
- Processing Helium-3 is a complex job, and people would need to live on the Moon long term.
- Scientists have found a way to turn Moon dust into water, which could sustain a human colony on the Moon.
Transcript
The longest anyone has ever stayed on the Moon is 75 hours.
But over 40 years after Neil Armstrong took his first step, new research into a rare isotope called Helium 3 may bring about one of mankind's dreams – living on
the Moon.
Helium 3 is rare on Earth, but is deposited on the moon by solar winds that stream across the Solar System from the Sun's upper atmosphere.
Scientists believe that through the process of nuclear fusion, Helium 3 could produce huge amounts of energy that could be used on Earth.
It will be a big job though – it's estimated that to extract 1 ton of Helium 3, we would need to process 100 million tons of moon soil.
And that would require living there long-term.
But the Lunar surface is hardly welcoming – there is no atmosphere, so no air to breathe, and no protection from harmful solar radiation.
Moon's coldest temperature: -233°C. Moon's hottest temperature: 123°C
Scientists have found an ideal training environment on Earth – underwater.
Here 'aquanauts', as they are known, experience the tough living conditions that lunar inhabitants would face.
Larry Toups, NASA Lunar Habitat designer – "Living in here is gonna be very similar to living in a submarine, it's a very close, confined environment. The crew is actually going to train for probably a number of years before they even come to a lunar habitat."
The aquanauts wear weighted backpacks to simulate the Moon's gravity.
But gravity and confinement aren't the only problems – we need water.
We could take it with us, but that's going to be very expensive.
Scientists have found a way of turning moon dust into water by compressing it in a furnace and raising its temperature to 800°C.
But there may be an easier answer – Indian probe Chandraayan 1 found frozen water on the Moon in 2009, and this could go some way to supporting human colonies on the Moon.
Despite NASA cancelling its planned 2020 Moon mission due to cost, the hunt for Helium 3 has reignited the international space race.
Russia, Japan and the European Space Agency have all announced plans to
launch probes.
China hopes to go one better and have a man on the moon by 2025.
Whoever gets there first, these exciting developments signal mankind's first steps towards the colonisation of moons and planets beyond our own.
