The greywater from your sink drains into a small greenhouse

你翻身下床，在地底的住所中， 一躍就是 8 公尺。

where your vegetables grow.

水槽中的廢水排入一間小型的溫室，

After suiting up,

溫室中有你種植的蔬菜。

you head through a transport chute to inspect the generator.

穿好服裝之後，

Outside, it's pitch black - just as it's been for the last 12 days.

你通過運輸道，去檢查發電機。

This isn't some post-apocalyptic scenario; it's just another day of life on the moon.

外面一片漆黑—— 過去 12 天都一直是如此。

And with the European Space Agency's idea

這並非什麼世界末日之後的情境， 這只是在月球上很日常的一天。

to establish a functioning "moon camp" by the 2020s,

歐洲太空總署的想法

that day may be closer than we think.

是要在 2020 年代建立 可以運作的「月球營地」，

Of course, living on the moon won't be easy.

所以那一天可能比我們想像的還近。

The camp envisioned is not so much a village as an inhabited research base

當然，住在月球上並不容易。

similar to those in places like Antarctica.

想像中的營地並不怎麼像個村子，

But there are far greater obstacles to living on the moon than just cold weather.

不像那些在南極洲的 可居住研究基地。

The biggest is cosmic radiation.

但生活在月球上的障礙 比寒冷的天氣要大得多。

Unlike the Earth, the moon has no atmosphere and no magnetic field.

最大的障礙是宇宙輻射。

A person on its surface can receive over 400 times the maximum safe dosage

月球不像地球，沒有大氣、磁場。

of heavy ion radiation,

人在月球表面上接收到的重離子輻射

enough to be fatal within ten hours, even in a spacesuit.

比安全劑量最大值還要高 400 倍，

The first step would likely involve robots

足以在十小時內致命， 即使穿太空衣也一樣。

and 3D printers constructing covered habitats from lunar soil,

第一步很可能會用到機器人

or building shelters inside caves

和 3D 列印來用月球土壤 建造具掩蔽的居住地，

formed by lava tubes from the moon's volcanic past.

或是在洞穴中建造庇護所，

But what would the inhabitants live on?

月球過去的火山造成的 岩漿道形成了不少洞穴。

Supplies would need to be transported from Earth at first.

但居民要以什麼為食？

Growing plants requires greenhouse soil and air rich in carbon dioxide,

補給品一開始要從地球運送過去。

a gas that's rare on the moon,

若要種植物，會需要溫室土壤 以及富含二氧化碳的空氣，

but could be synthesized from recycled materials.

在月球上二氧化碳是很稀有的，

A water treatment plant could be supplied by ice mined from the polar regions

但可以用回收材料來合成。

using a specialized drill that can bore two meters beneath the lunar surface.

從極區挖出來的冰 可以供淨水廠使用，

Friendly bacteria and viruses necessary to the human microbiome and immune system

挖冰要用到專門的鑽頭， 能夠鑽入月球表面底下 2 公尺。

would also have to be imported or synthesized on site.

人類微生物群系和免疫系統 所需要的友善細菌和病毒

And lunar inhabitants would have to exercise for hours a day

也得要進口，或是在當地合成。

to maintain bone and muscle mass.

月球居民一天需要運動數小時，

That's because the moon's gravity is just one-sixth that of the Earth,

來維持骨頭和肌肉的質量。

and the everyday strain of working against gravity

那是因為月球的引力 只有地球的六分之一，

is part of what keeps our bodies healthy.

每天花力氣來對抗引力，

It might seem strange to go to all this trouble

是讓我們身體維持健康所必要的。

to build a base on a dead rock we've already visited.

你可能覺得奇怪，為什麼要大費周章

But NASA's Apollo missions only explored small portions of the moon.

在我們已經造訪過的 死岩石上建立一個基地。

We've made many discoveries since then,

美國太空總署的阿波羅任務 只探索了月球的一小部分。

such as ice near the poles and particles of solar wind gases

我們在那之後有許多新發現，

that date back billions of years.

比如在兩極附近的冰， 以及太陽風氣體的粒子，

They collectively show that the moon has much more to teach us

具有數十億年的歷史。

about the history of our solar system.

這些東西讓我們了解到， 我們還需要向月球學習很多

A radio telescope on its far side could observe the cosmos,

關於我們太陽系歷史的知識。

shielded from the Earth's electromagnetic interference.

架設在月球遠端的無線電波望遠鏡 能夠觀察到宇宙，

And the lunar surface is rich in minerals, like silicon, aluminum, and magnesium,

因為它受到屏障， 不會被地球的電磁波干擾。

creating great economic potential for mining.

且月球表面的礦物質豐富， 有矽、鋁，以及鎂等等，

But the biggest benefit of the moon camp may not lie on the moon but beyond it.

在採礦上的經濟潛力很大。

With the nearest possibly habitable world light-years away,

但月球營地最大的益處可能 不在月球上，而在月球外。

and the International Space Station to be retired in about a decade,

其他可能可居住的星球， 最近的也在數光年之外，

a moon base would be our first foothold

而國際太空站大約 再十年左右就要退休了，

towards becoming an interplanetary species.

月球基地會是我們

And proposals such as the Deep Space Gateway

轉變為星際物種的第一個立足點。

envision launching future missions from lunar orbit.

像「深空閘道」這類的提案，

The smaller gravitational pull would require less fuel to overcome,

想像的是未來要從月球軌道 來進行發射任務。

allowing for larger ships and more cargo.

引力比較小，克服引力 要用的燃料也會比較少，

Meanwhile, the base on the surface could serve as a testing ground

就可以發射更大型的船艦， 裝載更多的貨物。

for future space operations,

同時，在表面的基地 也能夠當作試驗場地，

a refueling station,

供未來太空行動、

and a supply depot all in one.

燃料補給站，

With Europe, Russia, China, and the US expressing interest in the project,

以及供應倉庫， 做三合一的結合使用。

the moon camp may come to involve

歐洲、俄國、中國，以及美國 都對這個專案計畫表示興趣，

the space agencies of all major nations, as well as private companies.

月球營地有可能會有

Within a few decades,

所有主要國家的太空辦事處 以及私人公司。

the moon may be bustling with mining operations,

在幾十年內，

research stations,

月球可能就會鬧哄哄，

and tourist routes

有採礦活動、研究站、

alongside a construction yard under an orbiting space port.

旅遊路線，

We may have already visited the moon,

還有太空軌道進出港口 下面的建築工地。

but now we're closer than ever to making it part of humanity's home.

也許我們已經造訪過月球了，