The Cost of Living on the Moon
With underwater homes and space tourism, God knows what other habits of rich people will come about in the upcoming years. Will we live to see us colonizing the Moon and relocating there?
If this is bound to happen, it will be a luxury experience, probably only for the richest of the rich. But how much would it actually cost to live on the Moon once you’re already there? Well, to get there, have shelter, and enough supplies to survive for a year would cost you about $57.8 billion dollars. And this is the most affordable scenario. Fly me to the moon, anyone?
How Is It Possible to Live on the Moon?
Believe it or not, but with the current technology, living on the Moon is not far from possible and you even don’t need a Star Wars vehicle for it. With the development of life-support systems that recycle water and air and robust habitats that monitor temperature fluctuations and radiation, living on the Moon is theoretically very possible.
How do we get there? Well, several companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin are already developing vehicles like the Starship and New Shepard rockets, which would allow us to reach the Moon in as soon as three days.
Transportation Costs
The journey to the Moon actually takes the largest part of the overall expenses. The costs vary depending on the mission design and what rocket you use. For instance, the DSE-Alpha mission with a Russian Soyuz aircraft would cost $0.3 billion. But more comprehensive missions like those backed by Golden Spike or NASA’s SLS would cost much more — $1.5 billion and $2.0 billion, respectively.
Housing Costs
The next significant expense would be shelter. It can get -298° F on the Moon at night, so you’d want to make sure you don’t freeze. The operation of a modest four-person NASA lunar base is estimated to cost a hefty $7.35 billion annually. These are equipped with life support systems and robust protection against the Moon’s harsh environment.
Alternatively, if you went for a somewhat less permanent solution, you could rent a space in a modified Bigelow BA 330-MDS habitat. These can house six people and would run about $456 million per year.
The Cost of Sustenance
Sustaining life on the natural satellite goes beyond just having a roof over your head. What about the living costs like food and water? Let’s break down these costs below.
Food
Considering that the average adult consumes about 800,000 calories annually, solutions like lunar greenhouses would be needed to grow enough vegetables, such as lettuce, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and strawberries, to feed a person.
According to NASA, setting up and maintaining these facilities would cost around $5.9 billion. On the other hand, Golden Spike estimates a more cost-effective option at $1.7 billion. These greenhouses also require 36.5 kg of fertilizer annually to keep the crops thriving. Of course, if you want to have a more luxurious diet with Chardonnay and beef steaks, you should also add these costs to the overall budget.
Water
Water is another utmost necessity. An astronaut needs about 10.6 tons of water to consume annually. Additionally, 3.13 tons of water are needed for the irrigation of the lunar greenhouses.
Transporting and storing this much water on the Moon is a huge challenge. NASA estimates the costs to be $43 billion, while Golden Spike’s forecast is at $13 billion.
Air and Power
Let’s also not forget about one important aspect. While breathing may be free on Earth, it’s not going to be so on the Moon. A human being needs 675.25 lbs of oxygen each year to survive.
To meet this need, the lunar greenhouses can generate approximately 81% of this oxygen, while the remainder can be recycled from exhaled carbon dioxide using technologies like the Sabatier Reactor.
However, these technologies require power, and you cannot fully rely on solar power due to the lunar night. To solve this problem, the Idaho National Laboratory suggests a “suitcase” nuclear reactor, which is capable of providing consistent power. NASA estimates the total cost of setting it up and maintaining it to be around $1.5 billion, while Golden Spike estimates slightly less at $1.4 billion.
Conclusion
Living on the Moon might be a future that aligns with the extravagant dreams of rich people. The total cost could range from a staggering $57.8 billion in the most affordable scenario to well over $200 billion.
This exploration into lunar living underscores the lengths to which human curiosity and financial capability can reach. So fly me to the moon? Perhaps, only if your bank account rivals those of the wealthiest on Earth.
