Lunar Settlements (Advances in Engineering)

This volume addresses the many issues that surround the concept of humans returning to the Moon. It covers political and economic aspects; potential medical problems, including radiation exposure and long-term hypogravity; and lunar resources, such as lunar water from possible polar ice deposits, hydrogen, helium-3, and oxygen from the lunar regolith. The book also discusses using the Moon as a platform for astronomy applications, explores the outpost sites of Shackleton Crater and Malapert Mountain, and shows how greenhouses can make agriculture possible. In addition, former astronaut and U.S. Senator Harrison H. Schmitt discusses how to maintain deep space exploration and settlement.