Dec 11, 2006

More Moon mission ideas

Exploration
  • Exploration of the moon. Test rock samples brought back from EVA’s.

Operations and Maintenance

  • Re-supply missions to moon.
  • Remotely drive a rover to collect supplies from landing site
  • Set up power unit – deploy solar panels
  • Respond to anomalies:
  1. Return to Moon Base due to radiation from solar activity
  2. Power loss – repair power station
  3. Medical issues – rescue injured astronaut
  4. Pressure leaks (micrometeorites) – repair facility
  5. Broken filtration units – build new water filtration unit
  6. Reports of different problems from earth

Other possibilities for the video game. This can include a host of anomalies from things blowing up to falling off a cliff. I think the more danger, the better.

  • Building the base – inflating structures or using the Moon buggy to move structures into place.
  • Mining operation – Astronaut services a robotic mining operation. Perhaps transporting oxygen to the home base or Helium 3 to a rocket for launch
  • Servicing failed equipment – autonomous telescopes that break down
  • Cleaning off large solar cells when covered by regolith (If he kicks up too much dust, the solar cells get covered and power in the station goes down)
  • Food production – hydroponics facility
  • Collecting supplies that came from earth

6 comments:

Steven Heffel said...

What about actually getting to the moon in the Moon Base One video game? I think that thre should be an activity in the game where the kids plan the rocket trip from the launch site on Earth to lunar orbit and then from lunar orbit down to the lunar surface. The video game should help teach the kids something about celestial mechanics. As I understand it, the Apollo 11 mission nearly ended in failure while attempting the first lunar landing in July 1969. At the very least, there should be a screen on which the kids can see the trajectory that a rocket would most likely take during any trip from the Earth to the moon and back again.

Steven Heffel said...

What about lunar agriculture? After all, astronauts need to eat also. The Lunar Reclamation Society in Wisconsin has formed the Lunax Corp to do some grass roots research in lunar agriculture. In fact, back in the early 1990s they conducted some experiments that included planting agricultural plants in lunar soil simulant and then subjecting the plants to extended periods of simulated night and day conditions as would occur on the moon. The Lunar Reclamation Society is launching a renewed effort according to an October 2006 posting to their website. Also, the Moon Society completed the first of a series of Lunar Analog Simulation missions in March of 2006. Their first lunar mission simulation is documented on the Moon Society's website.

neftimiades said...

I agree on the lunar Agriculture.

neftimiades said...

I don't think we can do launch and lunar living in one game

neftimiades said...

I think we can do a lot with lunar agriculture.

murphydyne said...

May I suggest a visit to the Lunar Library?

http://www.outofthecradle.net/categories/lunar-library/

I especially suggest the Moon fiction section for ideas of events to be incorporated into the game. Many of the titles have links to brief reviews of the book that give a brief summation. The Moonbase section would be good also, but many of the other categories would be applicable.

Don't be thrown off by the blog format. Everything rolls up into the main page, so it's best to focus on an individual section of the Library over on the left. Take some time to explore the stacks and you may stumble across all kinds of interesting Lunar treasures.