Beginning a new life on the moon
from 21st centuryWITH the launch of the exploratory Chang'e I lunar orbiter last week, more people are dreaming of one day living on the moon. NASA has said this could be a reality within the next 20 years. So what sort of lifestyle can the first lunar residents expect?
Housing
The moonbases of science fiction tend to be spacious, glass domes in which lunar residents wander around in futuristic jumpsuits. But the reality will be a bit different.
\"Domes are not very good at filtering our solar radiation,\" says Professor Colin Pillinger of the Open University in the UK. \"If you have a solar storm, you don't want a nice little glass dome over you. You want something a bit more substantial.\" (Solar radiation, by the way, could give you cancer.)
Health
The biggest challenge to setting up a base on the moon is the danger of living in an environment with no gravity. Scientists have found that muscles and bones start wasting away in zero gravity. It's uncertain whether the same thing would happen on the moon, which has one-sixth of the Earth's gravity.
As for radiation from the sun, the surface of the moon appears to be safe enough. But no one knows the consequences of spending a long time there.
Food and water
In the short term, food would have to be brought from the Earth. The dream, however, is to grow things in greenhouses on the moon. This would involve suspending plants in a nutrient-rich solutions of water.
Water is not a big problem. Scientists suspect that the moon's south pole has large pools of frozen water. These could be mined and used to drink and create oxygen for habitats.
Transportation
Dr. Harrison Schmitt, who landed on the moon in 1972, has said that astronauts can move around the moon by cross-country skiing.
But this isn't a long-term solution. Something similar to the buggy designed for the 1970s Apollo missions would allow residents to explore beyond the backyard of their moon home. They could even use the buggy to transport heavy equipment.
CHATTER BOX
Li: If Chang'e sees the Chang'e I probe coming, she'll know that I'm going to meet her soon.
Wang: Yeah right, in your dreams.
Li: NASA's moon life project will allow ordinary people like me to go to the moon. Just wait and see.
Wang: OK, I'll wait, and so will my grandchildren. And their grandchildren.
Just wait and see: 你就等着看吧
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dome 圆屋顶
exploratory 探测的
lunar 月亮的，环月的
orbiter 人造卫星
futuristic 未来派的
nutrient 营养
buggy 双轮单座马车
habitat 生物栖息地
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