Apollo 11
In 1969, Apollo 11 landed on the Moon.
Since then, twelve people have walked on the Moon!
Curious Question
But here’s a curious question...
Could we live on the Moon?
Could we live on the Moon?
The short answer is maybe – but not without a lot of help!
Like all animals, humans need three basic things to survive: oxygen, water, and food.
None of these things are easy to find on the Moon’s dusty surface!
We could take oxygen, water and food with us from Earth, but launching rockets costs a lot of money.
Regular deliveries would get very expensive!
So, if we wanted to live there, we'd probably have to produce oxygen, water and food on the Moon – and that’s not as far-fetched as you might think.
oxygen
Let’s start with oxygen.
Here on Earth, we get oxygen by breathing the air.
There’s only a tiny amount of air on the Moon, but there is oxygen somewhere else: in the soil!
Of course, we can’t breathe the soil.
So scientists are developing technology to get the oxygen out of it.
One day, that could allow us to breathe easy.
water
But what about water?
The Moon’s surface is dry, but scientists believe there’s a small amount of water deep down in the soil, which we could use.
What’s more, some parts of the Moon’s north and south poles are always in shadow, and these areas contain ice.
With the right technology, we could heat this ice up and turn it into drinkable, liquid water.
food
Finally… could we grow food on the Moon?
Like animals, plants need water to survive.
On the Moon, we could get that water… from pee!
Astronauts on the International Space Station already use special devices to recycle their pee into drinking water.
On the Moon, similar technology could provide water for crops.
carbon dioxide
Plants also need carbon dioxide.
Well, that’s something we breathe out.
With the right equipment, we could capture it for our plants.
So getting oxygen, water and food on the Moon would clearly be a huge challenge, but one day, new technology and scientific discoveries could make it possible!
Now you know.
The Moon lacks the oxygen, water and food we need to survive.
So we’d need to produce those things there.
One day, new technology could make that possible!
Got it? Great!
Another curious question answered.