Could you live on the moon? - Alex Gendler

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Helen Chang

You roll out of bed and leap eight meters across your underground habitat.

你翻身下床，在地底的住所中， 一躍就是 8 公尺。

The greywater from your sink drains into a small greenhouse

水槽中的廢水排入一間小型的溫室，

where your vegetables grow.

溫室中有你種植的蔬菜。

After suiting up,

穿好服裝之後，

you head through a transport chute to inspect the generator.

你通過運輸道，去檢查發電機。

Outside, it’s pitch black - just as it’s been for the last 12 days.

外面一片漆黑—— 過去 12 天都一直是如此。

This isn’t some post-apocalyptic scenario; it’s just another day of life on the moon.

這並非什麼世界末日之後的情境， 這只是在月球上很日常的一天。

And with the European Space Agency’s idea

歐洲太空總署的想法

to establish a functioning "moon camp" by the 2020s,

是要在 2020 年代建立 可以運作的「月球營地」，

that day may be closer than we think.

所以那一天可能比我們想像的還近。

Of course, living on the moon won’t be easy.

當然，住在月球上並不容易。

The camp envisioned is not so much a village as an inhabited research base

想像中的營地並不怎麼像個村子，

不像那些在南極洲的 可居住研究基地。

similar to those in places like Antarctica.

But there are far greater obstacles to living on the moon than just cold weather.

但生活在月球上的障礙 比寒冷的天氣要大得多。

The biggest is cosmic radiation.

最大的障礙是宇宙輻射。

Unlike the Earth, the moon has no atmosphere and no magnetic field.

月球不像地球，沒有大氣、磁場。

A person on its surface can receive over 400 times the maximum safe dosage

人在月球表面上接收到的重離子輻射

比安全劑量最大值還要高 400 倍，

of heavy ion radiation,

enough to be fatal within ten hours, even in a spacesuit.

足以在十小時內致命， 即使穿太空衣也一樣。

The first step would likely involve robots

第一步很可能會用到機器人

and 3D printers constructing covered habitats from lunar soil,

和 3D 列印來用月球土壤 建造具掩蔽的居住地，

or building shelters inside caves

或是在洞穴中建造庇護所，

formed by lava tubes from the moon’s volcanic past.

月球過去的火山造成的 岩漿道形成了不少洞穴。

But what would the inhabitants live on?

但居民要以什麼為食？

Supplies would need to be transported from Earth at first.

補給品一開始要從地球運送過去。

Growing plants requires greenhouse soil and air rich in carbon dioxide,

若要種植物，會需要溫室土壤 以及富含二氧化碳的空氣，

a gas that’s rare on the moon,

在月球上二氧化碳是很稀有的，

but could be synthesized from recycled materials.

但可以用回收材料來合成。

A water treatment plant could be supplied by ice mined from the polar regions

從極區挖出來的冰 可以供淨水廠使用，

using a specialized drill that can bore two meters beneath the lunar surface.

挖冰要用到專門的鑽頭， 能夠鑽入月球表面底下 2 公尺。

Friendly bacteria and viruses necessary to the human microbiome and immune system

人類微生物群系和免疫系統 所需要的友善細菌和病毒

would also have to be imported or synthesized on site.

也得要進口，或是在當地合成。

And lunar inhabitants would have to exercise for hours a day

月球居民一天需要運動數小時，

to maintain bone and muscle mass.

來維持骨頭和肌肉的質量。

That’s because the moon’s gravity is just one-sixth that of the Earth,

那是因為月球的引力 只有地球的六分之一，

and the everyday strain of working against gravity

每天花力氣來對抗引力，

is part of what keeps our bodies healthy.

是讓我們身體維持健康所必要的。

It might seem strange to go to all this trouble

你可能覺得奇怪，為什麼要大費周章

to build a base on a dead rock we’ve already visited.

在我們已經造訪過的 死岩石上建立一個基地。

But NASA’s Apollo missions only explored small portions of the moon.

美國太空總署的阿波羅任務 只探索了月球的一小部分。

We’ve made many discoveries since then,

我們在那之後有許多新發現，

such as ice near the poles and particles of solar wind gases

比如在兩極附近的冰， 以及太陽風氣體的粒子，

that date back billions of years.

具有數十億年的歷史。

They collectively show that the moon has much more to teach us

這些東西讓我們了解到， 我們還需要向月球學習很多

about the history of our solar system.

關於我們太陽系歷史的知識。

A radio telescope on its far side could observe the cosmos,

架設在月球遠端的無線電波望遠鏡 能夠觀察到宇宙，

shielded from the Earth’s electromagnetic interference.

因為它受到屏障， 不會被地球的電磁波干擾。

And the lunar surface is rich in minerals, like silicon, aluminum, and magnesium,

且月球表面的礦物質豐富， 有矽、鋁，以及鎂等等，

creating great economic potential for mining.

在採礦上的經濟潛力很大。

But the biggest benefit of the moon camp may not lie on the moon but beyond it.

但月球營地最大的益處可能 不在月球上，而在月球外。

With the nearest possibly habitable world light-years away,

其他可能可居住的星球， 最近的也在數光年之外，

and the International Space Station to be retired in about a decade,

而國際太空站大約 再十年左右就要退休了，

a moon base would be our first foothold

月球基地會是我們

轉變為星際物種的第一個立足點。

towards becoming an interplanetary species.

And proposals such as the Deep Space Gateway

像「深空閘道」這類的提案，

envision launching future missions from lunar orbit.

想像的是未來要從月球軌道 來進行發射任務。

The smaller gravitational pull would require less fuel to overcome,

引力比較小，克服引力 要用的燃料也會比較少，

allowing for larger ships and more cargo.

就可以發射更大型的船艦， 裝載更多的貨物。

Meanwhile, the base on the surface could serve as a testing ground

同時，在表面的基地 也能夠當作試驗場地，

for future space operations,

供未來太空行動、

a refueling station,

燃料補給站，

and a supply depot all in one.

以及供應倉庫， 做三合一的結合使用。

With Europe, Russia, China, and the US expressing interest in the project,

歐洲、俄國、中國，以及美國 都對這個專案計畫表示興趣，

the moon camp may come to involve

月球營地有可能會有

the space agencies of all major nations, as well as private companies.

所有主要國家的太空辦事處 以及私人公司。

Within a few decades,

在幾十年內，

the moon may be bustling with mining operations,

月球可能就會鬧哄哄，

有採礦活動、研究站、

research stations,

and tourist routes

旅遊路線，

alongside a construction yard under an orbiting space port.

還有太空軌道進出港口 下面的建築工地。

We may have already visited the moon,

也許我們已經造訪過月球了，

but now we’re closer than ever to making it part of humanity’s home.

但現在是我們史上最接近 將月球變成人類家園的時候。