It is the year 2150. The Moon harbors a settlement of approximately 50,000 people, mostly comprised by miners and workers, employed by the big lunar mining and solar power consortiums. They are responsible for providing for the energy sources that sustain all the colonies throughout the Earth-Moon system, and a big part of the Home Planet as well. But it’s not only business on the Moon, for a big part of the lunar population is just there for pleasure. The cislunar transportation networks are always filled with a steady stream of tourists, regularly visiting their private properties and other recreation facilities on the Moon. When someone feels the need to just relax and escape the everyday routine of life on Earth, the sight of the Blue Marble over the grey lunar regolith in Armstrong City is one of his first choices—and one of the most cherished tourist destinations in the inner Solar System. And those travelers are always welcome there, because they have always been a major source of income for the lunar economy.
Many space advocates would argue that the prosperous future depicted above, although frustratingly delayed, is ultimately inevitable. And they have maintained for decades that the reason for any lack of progress toward realising that future has mostly been due to the lack of adequate funding and subsequent political will. But it may be that funding doesn’t even make for half the reasons for such lack of progress.
Forty five years ago this month, Apollo 8 became the first manned spacecraft to orbit the Moon, during an epic mission that fulfilled a centuries-old dream. One of the lasting legacies of this mission (and possibly of the whole Space Age) is the iconic “Earthrise” photograph of our Home Planet, seen by human eyes from the Moon for the first time. This sight helped to create a paradigm shift within humanity’s collective conscience, bringing home the reality of our place in the Universe more than anything else before it. It also helped to give a tremendous boost to the environmental movement that recognised the importance of environmental conservation and caring for Earth’s biodiversity while seeking the balance between growth and care for the environment—an important and necessary realisation for any maturing civilisation interested in its long-term survival.
