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Terraforming a cosmic body is a greater feat to achieve and we haven't figured that out yet. Terraforming is the process of creating a breathable, artificial atmosphere and make the cosmic body habitable. Is the concept of terraforming possible? The Moon is the closest astronomical body closest to the Earth, so instead of trying to colonize other planets which are far away, the moon might just be our best choice.
How to terraform the Moon?
The Moon is our bet to start terraforming because of its proximity to our Planet. It doesn't have a proper atmosphere and enough resources to hold life on it. The necessary elements of life, such as hydrogen, nitrogen, and carbon which are not found on the Moon can be produced on the Moon using several techniques. Firstly, we have to create the atmosphere because the moon lacks a proper atmosphere and so it can't hold any gases inside it, so don't even think about removing your space suit and breathe on the Moon.
All these problems could be solved and the Moon could be made habitable. Well, At least it is theoretically possible. The necessary elements could be brought to the moon by capturing the Asteroids and crashing them to the Moon which would bring water on the Moon. The collision made by the Asteroids could create devastation on the moon, which would release a lot of gas. The gases could disperse into the vicinity and perhaps create an atmosphere on the Moon.
Creating the atmosphere might also help us maintain the temperature on the Moon. As the temperature of the Moon's surface might reach up to 127 Celsius (260 Fahrenheit) and the temperature might get very low as Minus 173 Celsius (minus 280 Fahrenheit). This is caused because of the absence of the Atmosphere on the Moon and so if the atmosphere is created artificially, then the atmosphere might help to sustain an optimum temperature on the surface of the Moon. But this task is going to be tough. There are many things that might go wrong on this mission and it would also require an enormous amount of funding and effort.
Colliding the Moon would also help us speed up the Moon rotation and it will be no more tidally linked to the Earth, which could only make the colonization of the Moon easier. And the fascinating factor is the presence of Shackleton Crater, which holds water in the form of ice. If we could break the crater and we wouldn't need to transport water to the Moon. With enough water and suitable temperature, we would only be needing domes to live in and planets could be grown on the surface. But it would take a lot of effort and we will be needing a lot of money to make this operation successful. So is this all worth it to invest in the colonization of the Moon, which is just a barren land?
Advantages of Terraforming the Moon
Why choose the Moon, even though we have other potentially habitable planets in our solar system? The only benefit of picking the Moon for terraforming is that it is the only space body that is very close to us, the transportation to the moon might not cost as much as the travel to other planets in our solar system. As we know, the only way a space body could be terraformed is by bombarding the surface with a lot of asteroids, since the Moon is smaller than other planets it might only require a few asteroids compared to thousands of asteroids on other planets. The Moon also contains ice in its crater which could act as a steady source of water for the colonists of the Moon.
The colony on the Moon could act as a checkpoint for our Interplanetary Travel missions in our solar system and with the water found on the Moon, hydrogen fuel could be produced and can be used for powering spacecraft. And as the Moon's gravity and escape velocity are low, the Spacecrafts launched from the moon's surface would only require lesser fuel. So the more and more spacecraft and missions could be launched into space via the Moon. It might seem like an overwhelming dream, but making this arduous dream is going to be challenging as it comes with various hurdles.
Challenges of Terraforming the Moon
Creating an atmosphere on the Moon might sound like a great idea, but it is challenging to hold the atmosphere because of its low gravity. The Moon also doesn't have any magnetic field which prevents the deadly cosmic rays from entering the surface. Our technique of Bombarding the moon with asteroids might go wrong and the Moon might deviate from its orbit or worse it could be destroyed. We don't want the disappearance of the Moon as it is our most accessible cosmic object.
Even if we find a way to retain the atmosphere and make it habitable, we don't understand the long-term effect on the moon's Colonists due to the Moon's low gravity and radiations. Growing crops on the lunar soil using genetically altered seeds is still an experiment in progress, we haven't made sufficient advancement. The cost of this mission is going to be sky-high and obviously, no government-funded space agencies are going to risk their capital for this mission. Would we risk it to colonize the Moon? However hard we try, the Moon cannot be made into a habitable cosmic body.
Conclusion
Moon is considered to be the ideal candidate for terraforming because of its proximity. But the low gravity and no atmosphere had made the colonization of the Moon tough. It is also a worthwhile mission to invest in. Terraforming the moon might sound like an awesome advancement in technology, but the moon might not be the ideal choice for terraforming, so instead of terraforming the Moon, we might try to invest in space technologies and try terraforming other planets on our solar system. If we improve our space investments we might find a way to start interstellar travel.
