By 
August 7th, 2024
Image credit: Lockheed Martin/Inside Outer Space screengrab
A water-based, nuclear-enabled and commercially-invested vision of future operations on the Moon.
Lockheed Martin, a big league aerospace industry firm, has issued a visionary look at the building blocks of lunar infrastructure.
“By 2044, the Moon buzzes with international research and commercial infrastructure, transforming its barren surface into a livable ecosystem,” according to Lockheed Martin.
Image credit: Lockheed Martin
Take a tour
A water-based lunar architecture on the Moon is spotlighted in video and text, a futuristic tour of the lunar south pole to see the infrastructure needed to maintain a permanent presence on the Moon.
Highlights of that tour include:
Transportation: technology like the Orion spacecraft to transport humans to and from the Moon.
Mobility: vehicles to explore the Moon’s surface.
Power: a grid providing continuous power regardless of the Sun’s position.
Habitation: reliable, lightweight and spacious shelters made of inflatable softgoods technology.
Space Resources: water ice harvesting and regolith mining to support life on the Moon.
Joint Emergent Technology Supplying On-Orbit Nuclear (JETSON) High Power program.
Image credit: Lockheed Martin/AFRL
Sustainable, cost-effective
“This infrastructure is vital for lunar sustainability and as a launchpad for Mars missions,” notes overview material.
“Utilizing lunar resources reduces dependency on Earth, making space exploration more sustainable and cost-effective, which is fundamental for long-term missions and interplanetary travel.”
Moon-based Electromagnetic Launcher.
Image credit: Lockheed Martin/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Go to Lockheed Martin’s Water-Based Lunar Architechture at:
Download the Novella White Paper at:
Posted in Space News
