Independent Colony on the Moon, Five Years In

While we celebrate the fifth anniversary of the opening of  first private Moon Base, the effect that lunar life has on our physical and mental health is becoming readily apparent. With cases of muscle atrophy, moon fever and a mental disorder people have started calling a “lunar psychosis” on the rise, life on the Moon is not the paradise that the Corporations presented us with, and is far from becoming a permanent home. 

Five years ago, millions of us on Earth watched as the first Fuller rocket landed and we cheered as the brave men and women exited. The Corporations were keen to broadcast their first venture to dispel rumors that their base was not yet fit for living. Those who tuned in to watch will remember how each of the men and women turned and smiled to the camera, waving goodbye to Earth and letting us know at home that they were fit and happy. The five pods that they were going to live in looked minuscule against the vast alien landscape - the stark gray desert and the empty black of space. 

Today, those five pods are located at the center of City One - the first independent Moon colony with nearly two hundred semi-permanent inhabitants - a domed settlement that stretches from Hellings Ridge to Madeline’s Crater, though most of it is invisible to us here on earth, as the majority of the settlement is deep underground. The corporation tells us that City One is packed with every amenity that we could ever need - ‘Moon-life is a gift,’ they’ve announced this week in their ongoing recruitment drive: 

‘City One is a paradise. City One is a place where convenience and beauty come together. Everything you could ever want can be found in City One. Spend a day shopping in City One’s Plaza. Take in a spectacular view of Earth from the viewing platform of the Premier building.’

The Corporation is keen to advertise the extravagance of Moon-life - but is everything as perfect as they say? 

‘They don’t talk about the sickness. They don’t talk about the loneliness of life on the Moon. It isn’t right to live in a dome - it was a mistake to leave earth - our home.’ - Michael Raker, 27, an inhabitant of City One and sufferer of Lunar Psychosis. 

We have long known the negative physiological effects of leaving Earth’s atmosphere. Ebullism, hypoxia, hypocapnia, and decompression sickness are only some of the conditions experienced in space travel. Once on the Moon, the risks become more severe. Although the Corporation proclaims to maintain shields that combat solar radiation, monitoring by an independent agency suggests that the radiation levels are high enough to increase the chances of developing cancers are far higher than here on Earth.

Lunar Psychosis is the next biggest threat. Little is known about this disorder, and what it is about Moon life that brings on such a rapid deterioration in mental health. Some say it is being locked in the dome, some say it is the eternal black of space, some say it is simply missing Earth. The fact remains that living on the Moon is not the ‘paradise’ that the Corporation wants us to believe, and far from becoming a permanent home. Not only has the colony been a disappointment, but it is becoming a serious health risk to be there at all.