What are the Prospects for Colonizing the Moon?
The five primary elements of life are carbon (C), oxygen (O), hydrogen (H), nitrogen (N), and calcium (Ca). Together these make up about 98% of the biomass. We also use iron and silicon to make computers and machines. The problem with colonizing the moon is that it has plenty of iron, silicon, oxygen, and calcium, but very little hydrogen, nitrogen, or carbon, making it relatively hostile to life. Small deposits of hydrogen-containing ice have been observed at the Moon’s poles, where NASA plans to set up a permanent base by 2025. Otherwise, trace amounts of H, N, and C come in via the solar wind, asteroids, and comets. For colonizing the Moon on a larger scale – not just using it as a research base – large quantities of these elements would need to be brought to the lunar surface. Carbon could come from carbonaceous asteroids, which make up 75% of all asteroids, and are extremely rich in the element. Hydrogen could be mined from the poles at first, but might later need to be imported f
