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International Moon Village Construction Project
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The new director of the European Space Agency, Professor Johann-Dietrich Wörner, took office a little over a month ago, but has already managed to propose an ambitious project. Speaking at the UK Space Conference 2015 in Liverpool, he expressed the idea of creating an international lunar station , which will become a center for basic scientific research and a platform for launching interplanetary spacecraft.
The station must be on the far side of the moon, which will facilitate the launch of ships and observation of space, as well as protect from terrestrial radio interference.
Werner suggests using lunar soil, regolith, and 3D printing technology to build structures in the “moon village”.
According to him, the development of space tourism will occur over time, so that the lunar village (Lunapark) will become a popular destination among tourists, as well as travel to Earth orbit.
“Americans see Mars as their primary goal, but I am convinced that this is not so,” says Werner. - We need an intermediate goal. The moon is very interesting from a scientific point of view and achievable for people at the modern level of technology development. Mars and other planets need completely different technologies. ”
Werner believes that the construction of the lunar station is possible in the cooperation of all countries, including the United States, Russia and China. He says that the example of the International Space Station perfectly shows that different countries are willing to cooperate in space.
The ESA Director hopes that the lunar village will be built after the end of the ISS life cycle, that is, after 2024.