Returning to the Moon: Resources, Future Development, and Colonization

The Moon is due for re-visitation, not because there is need to re-examine the lunar rocks, but because our technological base has grown continuously to a point that it is possible to establish a permanent global human presence on the Moon. The Moon has a wealth of resources that can be used to support a broad range of human activities from science and engineering to commerce and tourism. President Bush's Vision for Space Exploration sets NASA on a course to have sustained and affordable human and robotic exploration of the Moon, Mars and more destinations in the Solar System. NASA will send human and robotic explorers as partners, leveraging the capabilities of each where most useful. Starting no later than 2008 a series of robotic missions to Moon will explore, prepare and support future human exploration activities. The first extended human expedition to the lunar surface is slated as early as 2015, but no later than 2020. We discuss a step-by-step and a cost-effective approach for colonization of the Moon starting with robotic exploration, identification of key regions of exploration, human return to the Moon using the Crew Exploration Vehicle and other spacecrafts, the lunar surface exploration, setting up of electric grid, manufacturing and mining operations using the lunar regolith and colonization of the Moon. The resources, for returning, exploring and colonizing the Moon, some of them are already present while others are in conceptual design mode. The interdependence of these resources and their utility in the lunar exploration has been explained.