That is a good question. I think it is economics. There is water on mars so in theory we can support life there. Melt and use it. The moon no water thus import constantly. Also that mars is farther out thus a better staging planet for our next expansion.
Or maybe the theories are right and the other life forms seen how messy we keep earth and said no way scram or else.
I thought it might be a water thing but then again they're beginning to find that too. I read this awhile back when it was circulating the news a alot: Moon Water.
Well if water is not an issue and from that thread I would say this is the case. Then it comes down to if your creating a settlement out side of water and growing soil what else is important. Land mass to create a stronger gravity for health? Or other longer term goals like deeper exploration into our universe.
I do not know the mind of the people at NASA but for me a base on the moon seems like a big first step for mankind. It still amazes me that there is so much talk about going to Mars and yet we can't do nothing but put a flag on our own moon.
So what are we saying here that there are hidden bases on the dark side of the moon? To prove that wouldn't someone just need to orbit on that side when the sun was shinning? Still strange the Russians haven't done more with it.
Perhaps the Chinese will send up a rocket to look for rare metals to use in their electronics and reveal more then our government have. Also with the space station in place how could they not be noticing movement around the moon.
I know it was suspected that the moon of mars was being used by aliens as well. Could they just be mining for ores as we would?
The moon presents several challenges that are difficult to overcome in regards to setting up a base.
First and foremost, is the high frequency of impact events. Lacking any atmosphere to deflect or destroy inbound objects, the moon gets hit quite often, often enough that any permanent installation will absolutely require shielding rated to take a meteoroid strike of notable force.
The second issue, (Caused by the first) is that the moon is dirty. Really, really dirty. Lunar regolith, the upper layer of particulate found there, is composed of tiny yet coarse particles with a strong ionic charge. The stuff sticks to everything and gets in every crevice, fouling joints, messing up sensors, etc. Its not quite a mechanic's worst nightmare, but its on that list. Standard filtration methods are not very effective, and if notable quantities are tracked into the base, the particles can and will cause considerable damage to the lungs of any inhabitants, not to mention act as an irritant to other parts of the body.
Edited: daishain on 25th Nov, 2016 - 8:31pm