Chandrayaan-3: Eight ways a home on the Moon can help humans

While having a lunar base helps open up new resources for earthlings, it also has more strategic advantages -- such as helping deflect asteroid threats and surviving a potential nuclear winter

A home on the Moon is an insurance against extinction for humanity (Photo | PTI)

Establishing a permanent human base on the Moon, the ultimate aim of India's Chandrayaan missions, can turn out to be extremely useful for human civilization. Sustained human presence and operations on the lunar surface will develop vital capabilities in inhabiting non-Earth environments that are essential for venturing beyond cislunar space. The moon serves as a cost-effective testbed and launching point for missions to other destinations.

Here are some of the advantages of having a base on the Moon:

• Experience in habitation - Building and operating a moon base would allow us to gain valuable experience in constructing and maintaining long-term habitation facilities away from Earth. This know-how would be essential for eventual human missions to Mars and beyond.
• Testing technologies - The lunar environment could be used to test technologies like spacesuits, rovers, power systems, life support systems, and in-situ resource utilization that will be needed for future missions. Conducting such tests on the moon is much easier logistically than sending them to distant destinations like Mars.
• Launching point - The moon's lower gravity compared to Earth makes it an ideal place from which to launch missions deeper into space. Less propellant is needed to escape the moon's gravity well. Spacecraft launched from the moon to other planets would require less energy.
• Resources - There is evidence of water ice and other mineral resources on the moon. A permanent base could learn to extract and utilize these resources. Producing spacecraft propellants like hydrogen and oxygen from lunar ice would eliminate the need to launch fuel supplies from Earth. This would prolong and enhance the range of any rocket or mission taking off into space.
• Science outpost - A moon base provides an excellent platform from which to study the lunar geology, environment and resources in greater detail through manned exploration and sample return missions. These studies will reveal more about the moon's origins and composition.
• Planetary Defense: In the long term, having infrastructure and expertise on the Moon could be beneficial for planetary defence against potential threats like asteroids. For instance, it might be more efficient to intercept or deflect an Earth-bound asteroid from the Moon.
• Industrial Development: Beyond immediate space exploration goals, a lunar base could stimulate the development of new technologies and industries. Lunar regolith, for instance, could potentially be used in various manufacturing or construction applications.
• First Home outside the Earth: A self-sustaining lunar base would demonstrate the feasibility of living off-Earth without constant resupply from our home planet. This will help secure humanity's future from risks such as a nuclear apocalypse on Earth.