Monday, September 21, 1998

Making waves on moon

A NASA space probe, the Lunar Prospector, has found water on the moon, as much as 10 billion tons of it, more than enough to sustain a colony.

Hauling water into space has always been an obstacle to supporting a colony. Water is heavy -- a gallon weighs more than eight pounds, a cubic foot more than 60 pounds -- and humans need a lot of it. Having an abundant supply already there solves several huge problems.

Water is not only essential to life; it breaks down into two enormously useful elements, hydrogen and oxygen, that can be used as air, fuel and rocket propellant. The moon water is frozen solid and shallowly buried, meaning it's both stable and accessible. With temperatures running at minus 250 degrees, evaporation is not a problem.

A base on the moon would be an essential first step toward a base on Mars. Thanks to the Lunar Prospector, space colonization is no longer science fiction; it's now science.