Cities Won’t Survive on the Moon as There Isn’t Enough Water, Scientists Say
Researchers say a 1 million-person city could drain lunar water in under 2.5 years, even with recycling that extends supplies.
- On Monday, a study published in Frontiers in Space Technologies found that trillions of pounds of lunar water would be insufficient to sustain large cities long-term, surprising lead researcher Martin Elvis, senior astrophysicist at Harvard and Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
- Musk announced in February that SpaceX would shift focus from Mars to building a self-growing city on the Moon, potentially in less than 10 years, prompting this research into lunar water viability.
- Using 1 billion tons of water as their estimate, researchers calculated that a 1 million-person city—about Stockholm's size—would deplete supplies in under two and a half years without recycling; 98% recovery efficiency like the International Space Station would extend survival to 100 years.
- Smaller settlements remain viable: a city of 100,000 people could survive 1,000 years, and a Moon Village of 1,000 inhabitants could operate freely, astronomer Ian Crawford told CNN, calling the research a valuable reality check.
- Agriculture demands 2,000 to 5,000 liters daily per person, and Elvis cautioned that sustainability depends on "people being very nice about their water usage," positioning small research outposts as the Moon's most likely use in coming decades.
23 Articles
23 Articles
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Millionaire Elon Musk, the owner of SpaceX space company, wants to build a city that will develop itself on the Moon in less than 10 years. A new study questions the possibility of such a colony. The main problem is that monthly water may not be enough to sustain a large population for [...]
Study contrary vision of Elon Musk and points out that even with recycling, population would exhaust resource in a century
Estimated reserves of ice on Earth's natural satellite would not be enough to sustain a large metropolis. Even with 98% recycling, the city of 1 million people would exhaust resource in a century, says study.
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