(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Reusable NewSpace: Lunar Tourism [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-08-19 "From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say 'Look at that, you son of a bitch'." – Apollo 14 Astronaut Edgar Mitchell Kindly Note: This is a Daily Kos Series on a technical paper that I recently completed. To see a list of the other entries in this series, please click the link below. Thanks! TABLE OF CONTENTS =<<>>= LUNAR TOURISM ARCHITECTURE Not much has been happening on the lunar tourism front. Tourism on the Moon would be very exciting for the lucky individuals who will be able to afford it. Amazingly, humankind has had the technology to create a lunar abode for the last few decades. What we have lacked was the will to go and stay. Besides, there is no need for a human presence on the Moon; robots can do the job cheaper and safer. This is certainly true; so we need to create a reason to have humans there. Only one industry absolutely requires humans in space: tourism. And just like tourism (basically) drove the airline industry to unparalleled economic heights, so will the spaceline industry. Image 1: Moon base modules that can be flown today! Both scientists and tourist will find the Moon an exciting and interesting place to visit. By providing the infrastructure for both, we can expand on the human experience. The first real Moon base will be assembled rather than constructed. Each module will fit together to form a larger site. A human presence in cislunar space will not be cheap, but costs can be reduced using a modular approach (Image 1) [Larger Image]. Eventually, the lunar base will grow into a lunar colony, and humans will have finally cemented the claim of "space–faring" civilization. But that's another story to be told sometime in the near future. =<<>>= LUNAR TOURISM CREW Yellow shirts are responsible for the safety and well–being of all tourists in space. Their rank determines the tourism mission that they fly (Image 2) [Larger Image]. Image 2: Orbital and Lunar Tourism crew rotation Ensigns will have deployments involving stays at the hotel onboard Space Station Alpha and Moon Base One. They will conduct tours of the stations, and oversee their safety when performing EVAs. They will each be assigned 5 tourists. Lieutenants will have deployments involving leaving the space station and Moon Base aboard the Space Ship and Lunar Rover vehicles (Black Shirts will pilot the vehicles). While docked, they will conduct tours of the space station, and oversee their safety when performing EVAs. They will each be assigned 4 tourists. Commanders will have duties involving leaving the space station and Moon Base aboard the Rocket Ship and Lunar Lander vehicles (Black Shirts will pilot the vehicle). While docked, they will conduct tours of the space station, and oversee their safety when performing EVAs. They will each be assigned 4 tourists. Captains will have duty involving staying overnight docked to Space Station Alpha. They will conduct tours of the space station. The Captain will be assigned 8 tourists. Captains will also have duty involving leaving the space station aboard the Moon Ship vehicle (a Blue Shirt will pilot the vehicle). While docked, they will conduct tours of the space station. The Captain will be assigned 8 tourists. =<<>>= LUNAR TOURISM PACKAGES Uniforms will be issued to all tourists to provide the crew with easy identification during an emergency (Image 3) [Larger Image]. It will be identical to the crew uniform, without all of the rank insignia. Their t–shirt color will be white in order to spot any injuries. Once in space, they can take off their flight boots and flight suits. Image 3: Tourist uniform Four lunar tourism packages will be offered to the millionaire adventure seeker. The packages are listed in order of expense, from least to greatest. MOONSHIP LUNAR HOTEL LUNAR ROVER LUNAR LANDER The Moon Ship takes the tourists once around the Moon, where they get to experience an Earthrise. It will carry 8 tourists and 2 crew on a circumlunar voyage. This package does not include the EVA bundle. The Lunar Hotel package finds the tourist staying at Moon Base One for 45 days. The Hotel Berthing Modules will house six people each, for a total of twelve people (ten passengers and two crew). The Lunar Rover takes the tourists far away enough so that the Moon base is out of sight. Eight passengers plus four crew make up the Rover package. The Lunar Lander takes the tourists to the holy grounds of Apollo 11 through Apollo 17. They also get to visit the lunar far side and Shackleton Crater. Eight passengers plus four crew make up the Lander package. =<<>>= MOONSHIP When lunar passengers go to the Moon, the VentureStar will need to wait for the other passengers to return from the Moon. During this time, the 8 Overnight tourists now are stuck docked at the space station for 8 days. So we'll instead send them to the Moon as well with this Moon Ship tourism package. Once docked at Space Station Alpha, the other 24 passengers disembark, leaving the pilots and the Moon Ship group behind. The 8 tourists spend a day exploring their unique surroundings with a Yellow Shirt as their chaperon. Their meals and sleep quarters are inside the empty docked spaceliner. After spending the night aboard the spaceliner like a normal Overnight tourist, the Yellow Shirt and tourists are joined by a Blue Shirt and board their temporary home docked at the bottom of the space station. The ship will use a CM1_10–00–07–2863, a single–level Crew Module housing 10 astronauts with no EVA ports for 7 days. The CM is attached to an Orbital Vehicle and sent on its way (Image 4) [Larger Image]. The Moon Ship then ignites its engines to eventually loop around the Moon and return home, with the round trip lasting 7 days. At the beginning of their journey, they will hear the immortal words that only Apollo astronauts so far have heard regarding an orbital trajectory called Translunar Injection: "Go for TLI" Image 4: Moon Ship Tourism Vehicle After engine shutdown, the tourists will get to see the Earth shrink as the days go by. After 3.5 days, the Moon ship whips around the far side, giving the tourists a unique view of our celestial neighbor few have seen. They will then get to see the most spectacular vision imaginable: Earthrise. They take another 3–and–a–half days to fall back to Earth. The crew then get to experience something that even Apollo astronauts never got to experience, an orbital maneuver called Earth Orbit Injection: "Go for EOI" The lunar–nauts then dock back with the space station after their 7–day trek and spend another overnight inside the spaceliner before going home the next day. Total time in space: 9 days. :: Circumlunar Trek Translunar Injection 3.348 kps Midcourse Correction 1a 0.005 kps Midcourse Correction 1a 0.005 kps Midcourse Correction 1a 0.005 kps Total Delta V 3.363 kps 0.75% Reserve 0.025 kps Outbound Delta V 3.388 kps Midcourse Correction 1b 0.005 kps Midcourse Correction 2b 0.005 kps Midcourse Correction 3b 0.005 kps Earth Orbit Insertion 3.384 kps Total Delta V 3.399 kps 0.75% Reserve 0.025 kps Inbound Delta V 3.425 kps Total Delta V = Outbound Delta V + Inbound Delta V = 3.388 + 3.425 = 6.813 kps Mission Duration = 7 days Total Propellant = Outbound Propellant + Inbound Propellant = 12,199 + 5,849 = 18,048 kg = 99.97% Full =<<>>= LUNAR HOTEL Hotel stays for the tourist offer an experience unparalleled. Ten tourists along with two Yellow Shirts check into their rooms after arriving at Moon Base One. They will explore the station in depth during their 45–day stay. The berthing module is hardened to reduce exposure to harmful space radiation. The EVA module is not hardened. The tourism Singlewide will have 6 sleeping units occupied. Two Singlewides will house 12 people. Image 5: Lunar Hotel floorplan The astronauts enter through a Connector (Image 5) [Larger Image] and then turn left or right to the Commons Area. Beyond this space is the storage/galley section and berthing for 6. The Commons Area will provide an open area for the hotel guests to gather. Adjacent to the Connector is the EVA area, where tourists get to experience Moonwalking. An electric–powered lunar "buggy" will be parked nearby where the astronauts can take tours of the Moon station, with a Yellow Shirt driving, of course. Another gathering place will surely be the observation section of the EVA module located on top of the Connector at the end of the EVA module. This area is also open like the commons area, only this one has windows. This deck can act as a "porch" for tourists. Attached to the Connector is another Connector which will be used as an emergency airlock in case an astronaut cannot click–in to their EVA port. There are 4 berthing sets available, with 2 sets occupied and 2 sets down for cleaning. =<<>>= LUNAR ROVER Image 6: Crew Module on Surface Vehicle with Extra Battery Passengers get to leave the Moon Base when they purchase the Lunar Rover tourism package. Once the Lunar Shuttle has docked, 2 Black Shirts, 2 Yellow Shirts, and 8 tourists board their temporary home docked at the lunar station. The Lunar Rover uses a CM3_12–10–45–11467, a three–level Crew Module housing 12 astronauts and 10 EVA suits for 45–days. The Crew Module will be attached to a Connecter and then attached to a Surface Vehicle with an Extra Battery. The Connector will be used as an emergency airlock (Image 6) [Larger Image]. The Lunar Rover will go in any direction the tourists wishes, allowing them to go on excursions to different locations on the lunar surface near the station never visited by anyone before. =<<>>= LUNAR LANDER Image 7: Crew Module on Connector on Lunar Vehicle The Lunar Lander tourism package is the last and most expensive of all the tourism excursions. The same Crew Module and Connector combination as the Lunar Rover will now sit on top of a Lunar Vehicle (LV) (Image 7) [Larger Image] instead of a Surface Vehicle. The tourists will visit all six Apollo landing sites, plus the lunar far side and Shackleton Crater. They will have enough propellant left over to go on excursions to different locations on the lunar surface never visited by anyone before. 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