In the Journal Of The British Interplanetary Society, vol. 44, pp. 125 (1991) there appeared a proposal for a sun-following Lunar base. This base would roll all the way around the Moon, following the sun, exploring the entire surface one "orbit" at a time. The advantages are that 1) it could be constantly solar-powered and wouldn't have to use storage batteries or a nuclear reactor and 2) It would allow exploration of vast swaths of the Moon without any need to leave the base - the base would go along for the ride, indeed would BE the ride.

Here, I propose a much more practical use for such a rover.

The problems of an industrial plant on the Moon would be similar to those of a scientific outpost; the inconvenient sun cycle, the need to store energy and the fact that the terrain would stay the same all the time. For a science outpost this would mean the nearby territory would be explored quickly and they'd have to go further afield to keep life interesting. For an industrial plant the problem is more severe; the useful minerals around the plant could be used up shortly, and oregathering would become more diffcult and expensive as harvesters had to go further and further afield.

This is more serious for a private industrial plant than it would be for a science station. Science is funded on a non-economic basis: the scientists wouldn't have to "produce" anything to stay alive, other than research papers, which don't depend on the quality of local orebeds. An industrial plant, however, would be directly dependent on getting enough valuable raw materials to justify its existence. If it couldn't, it would die - and on the Moon, this could be the literal truth.

A Lunar mineral refinery would need a constant supply of raw materials to justify its existence. Moreover, it would need a varied supply of minerals to supply a versatile mix of refined metal and chemicals. The Moon has been proven to have different kinds of soil in different places, just like Earth, and a refinery in any one place would have to either use the dirt around it or import dirt from elsewhere.

Instead of a stationary Lunar refinery, I propose a moving one. The smelter would be designed to make the most of the widely varied compositions of soil around the Moon; it would have filters for separating all the gases which might be found, and furnaces tailored to each metal. If possible, furnaces would be used for several metals, though perhaps not all at once. The gases would be stored in tanks for later local use or export.

These refineries would not have to rove constantly. They could stop for repairs, or speed up to get to a chosen spot quickly. It might be best to follow the sun near the daybreak line, so if there was a break down the crew would have almost 2 weeks to fix it. Running like this, the sun would be directly behind the rover, and drivers looking forward toward the oncoming terrain would have it backlit with no glare in their eyes, the perfect lighting arrangement.

As they rolled along, the omnivorous rovers would accumulate stocks of refined minerals. Eventually these would have to be transported off the Moon or dropped at stationary colonies around the Lunar surface. Because the rovers themselves would be solar-powered, their rendezvous with ships and colonies would always come during the day, which makes such encounters more convenient. Further, these meetings would be timed well in advance, at least in regard to the colonies; the ships might wait until a certain amount was accumulated, but with experience even this could be predicted.

A mobile refinery could make use of any orebeds available on the Moon, as it could simply move to them as the sun permits. No point on the Moon would be more than 2 weeks away. The rovers would have to move at an average of 16 kilometers per hour, about 10 miles per hour, to stay with the sun on the equator; at higher latitudes this speed requirement would be lower. Of course, with a higher top speed a rover would have more freedom in going places; as long a it had sunlight, it would be fine.

The advantage of constant solar power is an important one. Simple silicon cells can be used to power the entire vehicle; electric furnaces are the most efficient of all on Earth, but there could be even further energy savings if they used sunlight to heat the ores, as would be possible in the endless Lunar day. The day itself would enable longer working periods, and more waking leisure time; psychological studies have shown that, as long as there is light, people tend to be active.

Agrculture would also benefit. While perhaps a refinery is no place to grow food, a roving "truck farm" (on a farm truck!) could come along to provide fresh food. With the constant sunlight, day and night for the farm would occur at the farmers' discretion. No artificial light would be needed, and the raw sunlight t could be filtered differently for different needs - more UV for plants, less of animals, for example.

Likewise, the crew would not want to live on the dirty, noisy ore processor. Another vehicle, perhaps several, would contain the living and recreational quarters. One would expect that a prime off-duty activity might be taking small cars out to tour the constantly changing landscape - after all, they might never come back that way again.

Academics often decry the need for an economic payoff, saying that science should be above such pettiness and, anyway, basic research has always proven to be the best investment there is. Nonetheless, there has to be some way to pay for research, and if Government doesn't want it or can't afford it, the entrepreneur is their only hope. How then do you justify science on a profit-making basis?

There are a number of ways. For one, any mining company will be interested in geology; it can be taken for granted that all rover crews will contain at least one geologist, and not for some kind of nutty altruistic reason but so the company can know the territory better and profit from that knowledge. Likewise, the company might be persuaded to let "pure research" scientists tag along wholly for the PR value in supporting science and education; already on Earth, companies donate to universities and TV science programs for just that purpose.

It may turn out that, far from being "above economics" science is *dependent* on economic justifcation. Indeed, it may be those lowly businessmen who are the primary financiers of scientific progress. If so, let's hope it pays off so they can do more.

The need to constantly move would put a continuous strain on the machinery. Repairs would have to be done in one spot; then, to catch up the rover would have to run at high speeds for several hours or days. Also, the constant exposure to solar radiation would wear on the structures, not only due to high-energy rays and particles but also from the constant heat. The rover fleet would be a *very* hot place, and perhaps would be rigged with an elaborate set of parasols to prevent a catastrophic meltdown.

Since it would keep moving, the fleet would have to be located by radio. This isn't a problem as long as the radio works, but if it failed, the fleet would have no way to get help, as nobody would know where it was. A regular report of its position to some central emergency help center would be wise.

On the far side of the Moon, the rover fleet would be out of direct contact with Earth. It would be wise to put a geodesic satellite network in place for many things, communications included; this network, which could work just like a cellular phone network, woulde allow communications anywhere on the Moon with anywhere else, even Earth. The usefulness of this network would be so great that it should be set up independently of the omnivorous rover fleet, so economically they need not be connected, while the rovers would certainly make use of them.

One very serious problem, social rather than technical in nature, would be the matter of property rights. Eventually people will lay claim to certain parts of the Moon, and those people will want to keep intruders out. This could be a serious problem for the nomadic miners, whose livelihood might depend on access to certain high-grade ore fields.

In the American West in the 19th Century, cattle ranchers needing to graze their herds over wide areas of land conflicted with farmers who had fenced the land for their stationary flocks of sheep. This was more than just a legal dispute; there were bloody battles between the two parties, and for a while it seemed this would become America's new Civil War.

The range wars were eventually settled in favor of the farmers. Cattle ranchers had to settle on huge establishments, rent rangeland from private land owners and the Government, or go out of business. Eventually one would expect the same thing to happen on the Moon. The difference is that, on the Moon, "oregrazing" may be the best use for the land, at least until it is developed with cities and homesteads; if that is the case, the rovers may have to pay for access, but it is doubtful they would be shut out altogether.

It would be much better, both practially and economically, for a Lunar ore refinery to be mobile than stationary. Such a roving refinery could utilize constant sunlight and would be able to gather any ores available on the Moon. Likewise, this economic activity would allow scientists to tag along and study the Moon - perhaps contributing to the profit of the mining company.

Problems would be significant, but not insurmountable. The worst would be the constant solar radiation, which might vastly shorten the lifespan of the equipment and perhaps the crew. The rovers would not be easy to locate if their radios gave out, nor could they communicate directly with Earth on the far side. A geodesic satellite network would be good to have, for communication and navigation as well as prospecting and surveillance.

-- Jim Kelley

Columbus, Ohio, USA
North America, Earth
August 16, 1998 AD