Terraforming the Moon

[Kyng]

A while back, SpookyZalost created a thread about terraforming Mars. And, there's been some interesting points made in that thread - but there is somewhere else closer home that we could terraform first: the Moon . So, how might we go about that? The above video, by Isaac Arthur, offers some thoughts:

• Our options: We could use terraforming (i.e. making the Moon more like the Earth); paraterraforming (i.e. constructing habitable enclosures on the Moon); or bioforming (i.e. modifying ourselves to be better adapted to lunar life). Most likely, we'd be using some mix of the three .
  
  
• The advantages: Obviously, the Moon is close to us, so it's likely to be the first place we terraform . It's also rich in metals and minerals - and thus, is likely to be mined heavily. Furthermore, it receives the same levels of sunlight that the Earth does - making solar energy a natural and practical choice.
  
  
• The problems: The Moon is tidally locked to the Earth: it takes one month to rotate around the Earth, but also one month to rotate on its own axis (thus, the Moon has a one-month-long 'day'). We could certainly speed its rotation up with enough effort - but we could also construct mirrors and shades around the Moon to simulate a 24-hour day.
  
  Another issue is that, because of its low gravity, objects don't have much weight (and, combined with its lack of a magnetosphere, this makes giving the Moon an atmosphere very hard). Furthermore, thanks to the Moon's low mass, it would struggle to hold onto any atmosphere we gave it. One solution to this would be paraterraforming: just build domes over everything . Alternatively, we could magnets to stop high-energy solar ions from stripping our lunar atmosphere away.
  
  Of course, low gravity would have all kinds of other effects (for example: we could probably get much taller trees there ). Indeed, we don't yet know what all of these effects would be! However, it's likely that bioforming (i.e. tweaking human biology to be better adapted to low gravity) would be an easier solution than terraforming.
  
  
• Would people have the willpower? - Obviously, this would be a very long-term project, requiring quadrillions of tonnes of resources (e.g. water and nitrogen) to be shipped in, over the course of thousands (if not millions) of years. So, would the rewards be worth the investment? For a highly advanced civilisation, probably: in any interplanetary empire, a terraformed Moon would likely be second only to Earth in terms of power and influence. And thanks to radical life extension technology, some people from the early days might live through it all.

The full video is 30 minutes long - and it goes into a lot more details into each of these problems, and the possible solutions . But, I hope this has given you a good summary of the main points. Let me know if you have any questions, or anything else to add!

[SpookyZalost]

I honestly think paraterraforming is the best solution for the moon.  Mainly because while we could construct an artificial magnetic shield.  It's gravity is too low to hold onto any atmosphere for extended periods of time.  Meaning it would require upkeep.

There are other things to consider however.  The moon is full of lava tubes and caves.  Meaning rather than surface domes our best bet would be to use the naturally protected areas and build artificial biospheres underground.  Dwarven style.  It'd be far easier and cheaper to find, seal off, and terraform those caves than the entire lunar surface.

The most notable one is near mare borealis and the sea of storms.  Which puts it near craters with potential water ice.  It was measured as over 250 feet deep in the chamber we did find and use radar to measure.  And could indicate other large chambers beneath the lunar surface.  Waiting for us to colonize them.

These chambers are ideal because their depth provides natural radiation shielding.  Sealing them off and filling them with a breathable atmosphere would cost far less to maintain and is achievable with current technology.  And their size means you could likely build entire cities Beneath the lunar surface which would be protected from small meteorite impacts as well.

Just my thoughts on the matter.  Mars has it's own issues including something in the soil which affects the pituitary gland and stunts growth.  But there is a moon we could terraform and live on.  Titan.

Anyway yeah... Fun stuff. 

[Kyng]

I honestly think paraterraforming is the best solution for the moon.  Mainly because while we could construct an artificial magnetic shield.  It's gravity is too low to hold onto any atmosphere for extended periods of time.  Meaning it would require upkeep.

There are other things to consider however.  The moon is full of lava tubes and caves.  Meaning rather than surface domes our best bet would be to use the naturally protected areas and build artificial biospheres underground.  Dwarven style.  It'd be far easier and cheaper to find, seal off, and terraform those caves than the entire lunar surface.

The most notable one is near mare borealis and the sea of storms.  Which puts it near craters with potential water ice.  It was measured as over 250 feet deep in the chamber we did find and use radar to measure.  And could indicate other large chambers beneath the lunar surface.  Waiting for us to colonize them.

These chambers are ideal because their depth provides natural radiation shielding.  Sealing them off and filling them with a breathable atmosphere would cost far less to maintain and is achievable with current technology.  And their size means you could likely build entire cities Beneath the lunar surface which would be protected from small meteorite impacts as well.

Just my thoughts on the matter.  Mars has it's own issues including something in the soil which affects the pituitary gland and stunts growth.  But there is a moon we could terraform and live on.  Titan.

Anyway yeah... Fun stuff. 

Yeah, paraterraforming definitely sounds like the easiest option. Not sure how many people we can accommodate in those caves - but it's not like we'll need loads of people up there (at least initially). And if we do need more space for people, then there will likely be even more of those caves once we're done mining the Moon .

Terraforming Titan sounds fun, in the very distant future . Lots of methane, though - so, how would we go about terraforming that?