The Speculist

As late as the early 21st century there has yet to be found a compelling reason to go to and maintain a continuous human enterprise on the Moon. This discussion presents a potentially novel, lofty and commercially interesting initial rationale for lunar development.

An often overlooked asset of the Moon is its unique environmental conditions. Low G is well known, but less often considered is its potential for free and continuous extreme cold.

There are a few dozen craters at the lunar poles where the sun NEVER shines. A cryonics station can be constructed in one or several of these craters. To what end? To build an Ark to cryogenically preserve Earth's biosphere and to serve as the cornerstone of lunar commercialization.

Cornerstone would be the "Noah's Ark" of Earth's biosphere an off planet " Ark" to ensure cryonic preservation of all of earth's living species - automated to detect ELE (extinction level event) with automated systems to start the countdown to send the ark back to Earth – and deploy and animate/activate its payload. The Cornerstone installation and the Ark would be constructed robotically/teleoperatively. The Cornerstone project and its Ark would be marketed as the backup of the geobiome...i.e. "COOP Earth" or COPE (COntinuity Of Planet Earth) to various international and US budget influencers such as the green community, politirk to cryogenically preserve Earth's biosphere and to serve as the cornerstone of lunar commercialization.

Key points:

Free - uninterrupted - unending cold at < 90 degrees Kelvin

Zero melting risk from power outage

Mountain sized solar wind/radiation blocker for 360 degrees of horizon

Solar panels can be erected around the perimeter of the crater for perpetual energy in situ

Lunar water at the poles can be thawed and catalyzed to produce hydrogen and oxygen – propulsion and electricity, materials etc.

1/6th Gravity avoids tissue drift and mechanical stresses on equipment for near geologic periods of time

Ark could operate reliably without human intervention for centuries

Absence of oxygen eliminates tendency for oxygen to become enriched in liquid nitrogen, (concern has been expressed that high concentrations of liquid oxygen -- way, way more than in the atmosphere, since liquid is 1000 times denser than air and the % of liquid oxygen could be higher than the % of oxygen in air, might react with biological samples over extended periods of time

No need for expensive and unreliable dewars

No issues from weather, rust, mold and mildew, insects, bacteria, etc

Low gravity environment eases relaunch of the whole package if and after there has been some decades of terrestrial silence (ELE happened)

When combined with Helium 3 mining, these just might be sufficient to get us there and finally make Heinlein rest easy. http://www.blog.speculist.com/archives/000193.html