The idea of a Rock City on Earth which is built entirely underground was presented in
a series of articles on Ithaka at one time. Interest in the idea was high but acceptance possibly not so much. Nevertheless, such a living environment is probably the safest way to survive on the Moon or Mars.
The current proposal from the Europlanet Media Centre is more opportunistic than my Rock City proposal in which we will do all the boring and building for it whereas the current proposal will use whatever is there and adapt it. The idea has an excellent historical precedent since Robert Heinlein was suggesting in the 50s that we will use caves on the Moon for air reservoirs. The major beauty part to that was the idea of using those cave reservoirs for additional purposes and one of them was flying.
Given the much lower gravity on the Moon, we only need a clever set of wings to fly since the cave will provide air and plenty of space. Heinlein went on to describe the different sets of wings available since the sport was so safe a wide variety of people wanted to try it. He wrote of wings for beginners, sport models for those with advanced skills, and maybe there were cruiser models for those who simply wanted to enjoy flight in a relaxed and carefree way.
Ref: that idea may have been presented by Heinlein in "The Man Who Sold the Moon" but it was presented as a short story so it's tough to remember exactly which of his books it may have carried it.
Zen Yogi: easy peasy, Silas. Read all of them.
Starting as a kid I and many others did try to do that but now the problem comes of which one had the idea. But read all of them anyway since his glorious ideas are worth it.
ESA Astronauts training in terrestrial lava tubes in Lanzarote during the PANGEA 2016 course.
Credit: ESA/L. Ricci
When they're training for it now, you know they're serious about it.
Lava tubes, underground caves created by volcanic activity, could provide protected habitats large enough to house streets on Mars or even towns on the Moon, according to research presented at the European Planetary Science Congress (EPSC) 2017 in Riga. A further study shows how the next generation of lunar orbiters will be able to use radar to locate these structures under the Moon's surface.
Science Daily: Lava tubes: Hidden sites for future human habitats on the Moon and Mars
Heinlein smiles.
"The comparison of terrestrial, lunar and martian examples shows that, as you might expect, gravity has a big effect on the size of lava tubes. On Earth, they can be up to thirty metres across. In the lower gravity environment of Mars, we see evidence for lava tubes that are 250 metres in width. On the Moon, these tunnels could be a kilometre or more across and many hundreds of kilometres in length," says Dr Riccardo Pozzobon, of the University of Padova. "These results have important implications for habitability and human exploration of the Moon but also for the search of extraterrestrial life on Mars. Lava tubes are environments shielded from cosmic radiation and protected from micrometeorites flux, potentially providing safe habitats for future human missions. They are also, potentially, large enough for quite significant human settlements -- you could fit most of the historic city centre of Riga into a lunar lava tube."
- SD
Their research has shown the enormous potential for this type of living environment since the lava tube is likely shielded better from cosmic radiation than existing caves. The safety and stability are compelling when one seeks to build an environment which will last there.
The first problem in using these lava tube environments since first we have to find them but the research has that well in-hand:
In a separate talk at EPSC, Leonardo Carrer and colleagues of the University of Trento presented a concept for a radar system specifically designed to detect lava tubes on the Moon from orbit. The radar probes beneath the lunar surface with low frequency electromagnetic waves and measures the reflected signals. This radar instrument could determine accurately the physical composition, size and shape of the caves and obtain a global map of their location.
- SD
Zen Yogi: I need wings
Red Bull probably won't do it for you, mate, but I love the idea of flying bears. We can go with the Ted Burton view in which flying bears will be terrifying but we also have the possible Disney view in which the flying bears perform like synchronized swimmers when they hit the pool.
Zen Yogi: I like the Disney way better
Of course you do, Yogi, so keep following new developments in this research to discover when that time may come.
The current proposal from the Europlanet Media Centre is more opportunistic than my Rock City proposal in which we will do all the boring and building for it whereas the current proposal will use whatever is there and adapt it. The idea has an excellent historical precedent since Robert Heinlein was suggesting in the 50s that we will use caves on the Moon for air reservoirs. The major beauty part to that was the idea of using those cave reservoirs for additional purposes and one of them was flying.
Given the much lower gravity on the Moon, we only need a clever set of wings to fly since the cave will provide air and plenty of space. Heinlein went on to describe the different sets of wings available since the sport was so safe a wide variety of people wanted to try it. He wrote of wings for beginners, sport models for those with advanced skills, and maybe there were cruiser models for those who simply wanted to enjoy flight in a relaxed and carefree way.
Ref: that idea may have been presented by Heinlein in "The Man Who Sold the Moon" but it was presented as a short story so it's tough to remember exactly which of his books it may have carried it.
Zen Yogi: easy peasy, Silas. Read all of them.
Starting as a kid I and many others did try to do that but now the problem comes of which one had the idea. But read all of them anyway since his glorious ideas are worth it.
ESA Astronauts training in terrestrial lava tubes in Lanzarote during the PANGEA 2016 course.
Credit: ESA/L. Ricci
When they're training for it now, you know they're serious about it.
Lava tubes, underground caves created by volcanic activity, could provide protected habitats large enough to house streets on Mars or even towns on the Moon, according to research presented at the European Planetary Science Congress (EPSC) 2017 in Riga. A further study shows how the next generation of lunar orbiters will be able to use radar to locate these structures under the Moon's surface.
Science Daily: Lava tubes: Hidden sites for future human habitats on the Moon and Mars
Heinlein smiles.
"The comparison of terrestrial, lunar and martian examples shows that, as you might expect, gravity has a big effect on the size of lava tubes. On Earth, they can be up to thirty metres across. In the lower gravity environment of Mars, we see evidence for lava tubes that are 250 metres in width. On the Moon, these tunnels could be a kilometre or more across and many hundreds of kilometres in length," says Dr Riccardo Pozzobon, of the University of Padova. "These results have important implications for habitability and human exploration of the Moon but also for the search of extraterrestrial life on Mars. Lava tubes are environments shielded from cosmic radiation and protected from micrometeorites flux, potentially providing safe habitats for future human missions. They are also, potentially, large enough for quite significant human settlements -- you could fit most of the historic city centre of Riga into a lunar lava tube."
- SD
Their research has shown the enormous potential for this type of living environment since the lava tube is likely shielded better from cosmic radiation than existing caves. The safety and stability are compelling when one seeks to build an environment which will last there.
The first problem in using these lava tube environments since first we have to find them but the research has that well in-hand:
In a separate talk at EPSC, Leonardo Carrer and colleagues of the University of Trento presented a concept for a radar system specifically designed to detect lava tubes on the Moon from orbit. The radar probes beneath the lunar surface with low frequency electromagnetic waves and measures the reflected signals. This radar instrument could determine accurately the physical composition, size and shape of the caves and obtain a global map of their location.
- SD
Zen Yogi: I need wings
Red Bull probably won't do it for you, mate, but I love the idea of flying bears. We can go with the Ted Burton view in which flying bears will be terrifying but we also have the possible Disney view in which the flying bears perform like synchronized swimmers when they hit the pool.
Zen Yogi: I like the Disney way better
Of course you do, Yogi, so keep following new developments in this research to discover when that time may come.
1 comment:
This is a Dream Big idea
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