Since the oldest of times, humans have asked themselves “What is out there?”. Of course, they were aware of the existence of what we, nowadays, call “Moon”. In fact, the Moon was used for measuring the months, and that’s how it got its name, from the word mōna, an old english word from the medieval times. Mōna shares its origins with the Latin words metri, which means to measure, and mensis, which means month. But let’s not cloud the issue and return to the main topic. Humans are, by nature, curious and so-called intelligent beings. And thus, the research began. Which brings us to July 1969, the first manned mission to land on the Moon.

Fast forward to present times and to our Moon Camp project. Our base, located inside the Shackleton crater, is designed in such a way that it is easy to assemble and expand. As for its layout, the main structure is composed out of three floors, each consisting of more hexagonal cells placed next to one another – cells that can be stacked and linked together. A beautiful glass dome surrounds it. We have a greenhouse, as well as our faithful rovers. This project’s main objective is to prove that it is possible to lead a decent, comfortable life on the moon.

The location of the base is, of course, very important. There are numerous variables to take into account when deciding where to build it. Our goals were the efficiency and the safety of the astronauts. Since a crater offers increased protection, that is where ours is situated. To be more specific, at the south pole, near the center of the Shackleton crater. Its margins are lit for long periods of time, which can provide useful energy for our solar panels.

The base is made out of 3D printed cells, that have lunar soil as their raw material. These can be carried with ease and assembled together. The inspiration behind their hexagonal shape was the structure of a honeycomb, but how come we settled for it? First of all, it is one of the strongest shapes, being able to hold a lot of weight. Secondly, it is incredibly efficient. After all, there’s a reason for its prevalence in nature and you have probably heard of the mathematically proven Honeycomb Conjecture.

There is a thick, exterior S-glass dome that protects the rooms, greenhouse, O2 and H2O tanks, built by autonomous machines. At all times, there is at least one awake crew member, and everything is always being closely monitored. All maintenance is done autonomously as well. In the case of any breach, there are safety protocols in place.

“Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.”, wrote W. H. Auden in his poem “First Things First”. Humans can survive without water for about three days, though even a whole day would be unpleasant and not something that we would ever want to subject our crew to. Bringing water from Earth is not a realistic option throughout the whole duration of the mission, though. So we came up with a solution. Scientists claim that there is frozen water in the Moon’s craters, where our base is situated. There is a small distance between the water source and our camp. Last but not least, we will reuse the water from urine, sweat and air.

As for the matter of food, during the first stages of our settlement, the astronauts will have to be content with eating the astronaut food they were given. But worry not, after they retrieve enough oxygen, they will be able to grow plants and algae in their very own greenhouse, starting with the very nutritious Chlorella Vulgaris. Chlorella is a type of microalgae that provides many vitamins, antioxidants, fiber and protein. Of course, it is only a supplement, and it can’t be the only thing we grow. In the case of an emergency, there will always be spare food in our storage. Perhaps in the near future we can establish a real ecosystem on the moon.

The solar panels built around the base use sunlight as a source of energy to generate direct current electricity. Obviously, they only do that in day time. In order to benefit from electricity at night, the solar panels will charge some batteries during the day. We can also use lunar regolith to store heat.

One of our most basic needs is air. For the astronauts to be able to breath, approximately 78% nitrogen and 20% oxygen is required. While at first they will have to use the compressed air brought from Earth, it is way too expensive for them to be able to do that for the rest of the settlement’s usage. Hydrogen can be found in the ice present in deep craters, and then used for the electrolysis of water to obtain oxygen. The aforementioned Chlorella could potentially be used in O2 production as well.

As we briefly mentioned in the description of the project, our major causes are to demonstrate that people could actually spend a lifetime on Earth’s satellite, as well as to facilitate scientific research. And if the outcome is favorable, well, all we can do is quote Neil Armstrong: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

It is important that the astronauts’  programme is well organized, so as to fit both the completion of tasks and rest. Despite it being quite flexible, they can’t overlook their responsibilities – no oversleeping or being late for work.

Our crew’s health is top priority, therefore we need to take into account the following: regulated meals, a sleep schedule, physical training, as well as diverse activities to maintain their morale and mental well-being.

The astronauts will have three meals per 24 hours. The quantity and nutritional value will be carefully established from the beginning. Physical training is also very important. Low gravity poses the risk of bone and muscle loss, which is why a full body workout needs to be a part of their routine. The crew members can choose to exercise in the gym in their breaks as well, but it is not the only available activity. For example, during their free time they can read books, listen to music or watch movies. They also have a few board games available and they can spend time together like any friend group would.

Sometimes they can take days off, but generally over a 24 hour period they have about 8 hours of work, with small, ten minute breaks throughout that time, and around 8-9 hours of sleep. It is important that at any given time there is at least one, preferably two astronauts awake, so that they can alert the others in the case of a crisis.