The Lunar Homestead position on Lunar, and space, settlement is that it won’t happen until we have the appropriate Frontier-Enabling Technology and Techniques on the shelf for everyone to use. And this stuff just doesn’t exist yet. That’s why Lunar Homestead exists.
There is so much we need to figure out before permanent human settlements on Luna (or anywhere else besides Earth) become a reality. Very few people are actually working on finding the answers. And YOU can help make it happen.
Lunar Homestead Research Projects
Shielded Pressurized Oxygen Resource Extraction (SPORE) – SPORE combines underground habitat construction with mega-regolith mining while mitigating, or eliminating, the hazards associated with Lunar surface activities.
Cast Iron Habitat Pressure Hull – The Lunar maria contains a lot of iron (bound up in the rocks). What if we could use this iron to make our Homestead habitat pressure hulls? This project focuses on elemental iron, not steel, since carbon is going to be a valuable resource and we don’t want to lock it up in our habitat hulls.
Manual Universal Power Supply (MUPS) – Homesteads need power, both electrical and mechanical. The MUPS project aims to use human power to do useful work (crush rock, generate electricity, etc.) while providing much needed exercise. MUPS units also need to be designed so they can be built and maintained using only locally available resources.
Basalt Gravel Crusher – Homesteaders are going to mine basalt from the Lunar mare while creating their settlements. They will need to reduce the gravel-sized pieces to a fine powder before they can extract the iron and oxygen from it. Coincidentally, Lunar Homestead has bags of basalt gravel that needs to be turned into powder as well.
Oxygen-Iron Extraction – Homesteaders will need ways to extract iron and oxygen from the Lunar mare basalt they mine. There are a number of possible ways to do this. We need to find one that meets all the Lunar Homestead parameters. This project is currently on hold while LH works out how to crush basalt into a fine powder.
Cast Basalt Habitat Pressure Hull – The Lunar maria are primarily made up of basalt. How cool would it be if Homesteaders could simply melt that basalt, cast it into hull components, and use it to build habitat pressure hulls? Pretty darn cool! This project is currently on hold while LH works on the Cast Iron Habitat Pressure Hull project first (because they might be easier to manufacture, assemble, and maintain than cast basalt hulls).
Lunar Homestead Kits
Imagine a future where any group motivated to settle on the Moon can purchase kits containing all the equipment and supplies they will need to create their initial Homestead. These groups then contract with a transportation company (such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, etc.) to deliver their kits and initial Homesteaders to a specified location. The new Homesteaders use their kits to create the core Homestead. More settlers are brought in as the Homestead’s capabilities are expanded. The end result is a thriving, self-reliant settlement on the Moon. Sounds pretty great, right?
The LH research projects create the individual tech. We then need to figure out how will work with everything else (systems engineering). The final step is to create “flight ready” kits that can be loaded on a rocket and sent to the Moon.
LH most likely won’t actually build or sell kits. However, we can provide designs freely to everyone. Groups and companies can then use these designs to build their own versions. They can then use these kits or sell them to other potential Lunar Homesteaders.