Swedish Research Council
Stockholm, Sweden
13 March 2006
Swedish plans to colonise space
Building a self-reliant moon colony is no longer science fiction, or a
gimmick to promote the new James Bond film. It is indeed near-term
reality.
After the Apollo landings, the moon returned to its magnificent
desolation, and has until recently received very little attention as a
target of exploration, let alone settlement. Currently, the Swedish-made
SMART-1 is the only spacecraft orbiting the moon. It is scheduled to
impact in early 2007, but another Swedish effort is already being
launched, designed to make a lasting impact on the way we perceive the
moon.
Dr. Niklas Järvstråt, a well-reputed material scientist, devised a plan to
put a colony on the lunar surface already a decade ago, long before
President Bush revealed his grand plans for a moon base. Now Dr. Järvstråt
and the Swedish SMART-Centre has assembled an international consortium to
take these initial plans off the drawing board and turn them into reality.
The consortium consists of over 50 partners, including industries such as
the Japanese Shimizu Corporation and Orbitech, a US NASA-contractor, and
academic institutions such as Ecole des Mines, France and Cranfield
University, England.
“The principle is simple, but not traditional. It is logical, sustainable
and very much within our reach, both materially and financially. Why treat
a space project as a disposable unit, when it is possible to build a base,
which can thrive, expand, and enhance man’s benevolent presence in space?”
That was the basis of Dr. Järvstråt’s idea. Being a material scientist, he
devised a plan for a colony where men, women, and children can live
without the need of a continuous supply of materials and technology from
Earth; a self-supporting colony where the great circle of life can be
sustained in its entirety by lunar raw materials and where all
life-sustaining products will be manufactured in situ.
The colony aims to be self-sustaining in its requirements for sustenance,
but it will nevertheless function in symbiosis with Earth. As a result,
trade between the lunar colony and Earth will flourish, with the lunar
colony contributing towards the development of research and scientific
activities, such as, for example, the supply of alternative energy based
on advancements in Helium-3 fusion power, and provision of structural
materials for spacecraft and satellites in earth orbit as well as deep
space. At this time of potential fossil fuel shortages, threats of global
warming, cultural clashes, and population explosion, this concept might
well be what stops man’s over-exploitation of Mother Earth by uniting
governments and nations, scientists and laymen in mutual cooperation and
understanding.
This research initiative is integrated with ongoing activities at the
SMART-Centre in Trollhättan, a part of University West, and an umbrella
organization for six manufacturing technology research areas; one of these
areas is unique in its research into self-sufficient manufacturing. The
Centre has excellent facilities, both on and off campus, and boasts a
unique blend of traditional academic values for research and education,
combined with a modern hands-on approach supported extensively by national
and international industry giants.
The research will commence during the second quarter of 2006, with the aim
of expanding into a full scale self-sufficient manufacturing process
facility during a five year period. During this period further funding
will be solicited and the international cooperation strengthened.
