MMM Classics Year 10: MMM #s 91-100 - Moon Society

jump). They will want to exercise in centrifuge gyms.
Children’s gym sets will likewise show interesting
characteristic differences from those on Earth. The kids will
pioneer a characteristically different lunar-style gymnastics.
Transgenerational Effects - If you will, a couple of
definitions. A genotype is the shape a living creature assumes
as it matures from egg or seed insofar as it is determined by its
genes. A phenotype is the shape it assumes insofar as it is
determined by the environment. Take twin tree seeds, plant one
in its normal habitat, the other up near the tree line on a
mountainslope, and you would never guess that they belonged
to the same species. Native born Lunans may look like a
different race from their parents. On average, they might grow
significantly taller and more lithe, and generally leptomorphic.
Add in a couple of generations and they may not fit well in the
habitats built by their earth-born ancestors. They will walk
differently, sit differently, climb steps differently, dance
different, play differently. These differences may dwarf those
experienced in this country and elsewhere in the average height
and weight of adults - coming from better modern nutrition.
Farming and Gardening - agricultural and horticultural
implications of sixthweight include especially those gravityassisted
processes like hydroponic and other drip irrigation and
nutrient delivery systems - requiring some minor and perhaps
some major modifications, as well as soil and plant bed
drainage. If the soil is too fine, a bed that may have drained
fine on Earth could become water-logged on the Moon.
Will plants grow taller? Will they boast larger blooms
and fruit? Or spindlier stems? Will these differences be subtle
or striking? Science fiction writers have speculated about
flower gardens of forest proportions in lunar greenhouses. Will
we have a settling out into garden floor and garden “canopy”
flowering species? Will such gardens be a major must see on
tourist itineraries, and host many a wedding portrait session?
More important are the implications of phenotype
change for food production and harvesting methods. Conveyors
and chutes and other gravity-assist produce-moving equipment
may need subtle changes. Again, the sooner we get our feet
wet, even if its just in artificial sixthweight, the better.
Food Preparation - some cooking methods (boiling, at
least), and the mixing and blending and separation by density
of ingredients will surely be affected by transposition to the
lunar gravity environment. Vinegar and oil, for example, will
not be so quick to separate.
NON-BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
Tool Use - Most of us are familiar with the major redesign of
hand tools meant to be used in orbit that has been necessary to
accommodate to weightlessness. The lack of gravity-assisted
purchasing power, combined with the equal reaction laws of
nature requires anti-torque compensation and other major
changes. On the Moon, we will have gravity-assist to enable us
to lean into our tools, but it will be less than that we are used to
on Earth. Some of the modifications meant for tools used in
orbit and outside space vehicle repairs may survive in some
form on tools designed for lunar use. However, many tools
unmodified from their common terrestrial form should do well
enough for general use.
Operation of Machinery - Material handling equipment
systems that rely on gravity assist may need some
modification. This will be true both for solids and liquids.
Some pieces of equipment, especially mobile units, may need
to be redesigned for a lower center of gravity as on the Moon,
tip-overs will be much more common, if compensation is not
made. mass distribution
Vehicles - What applies to people, applies in exaggerated
form to vehicles. It’ll be harder to start, accelerate, maneuver,
and stop on the Moon - simply because traction is reduced
along with gravity, while momentum is not. Personal vehicles
from indoor bikes to outdoor trikes to jeep equivalents, transport
vehicles like trucks and coaches, “‘lith-moving” (road
building and surface mining and gas scavenging) and construction
vehicles, and sport vehicles will all need to be radically
designed for sixthweight. At stake is stability in turning and
banking, and overall safety.
As the years go by and native born Lunans start taking
over, vehicle cabins may need appreciable redesign or resizing
to accommodate their possibly taller average stature.
Furniture Design - because of both reduced weight and
lower friction, furniture pieces will be a lot easy to move
unintentionally by just bumping into or grazing them, an easy
thing for non-adepts “fresh off the ship” yet to find their “moon
legs”. Thus furniture too may be built bottom heavy. Sofas and
chairs may need a lot less cushioning, relying more on
contoured seat areas - a good thing, because upholstery fiber
would be an expensive item. We can expect more built-in
furniture, not just cabinetry, but also bench seating, even beds -
all for the reasons above. Provision for foot traffic aisles and
walk ways may be more generous to accommodate a higher
incidence of at least temporary clumsiness. Standard counter
and table heights may also grow to suit taller Lunans.
Product Design - Bottom heavy design may extend to
glassware, bottles, mugs, vases and other objects. Here we are
ready to go with an ample suite of such things already designed
for boat and recreational vehicle use.
Architectural Standards - Over time, as Lunans grow
naturally taller, ceiling heights and door clearance heights will
grow. Lunar habitat ceilings may be see a return to 9 ft. and 7.5
ft standards formerly common. Some expect “bounding ramps
to replace stairs. But we will always need to accommodate the
aging, the infirm, and those just off the ship. Paradoxically, it
may be the latter, with their Earth-tuned musculature, who’ll
opt for bounding platforms. Those long acclimatized to sixth
weight may need traditional stair sets.
Construction Methods - The lower gravity will allow
easier lifting, and the suspension of more massive loads from
ceilings and walls. There will be other subtle changes.
Power Generation and Storage - strange as it may
seem, hydroelectric nightspan power in closed loop recycling
water reservoir systems is a distinct possibility on this ultra-dry
world. Water reserves could be pumped up crater walls and
mountainslopes by solar power during dayspan, UV-sterilized
under quartz panes, and then allowed to fall through generators
during nightspan. Head heights will more than compensate for
the reduced gravity.
Moon Miners’ Manifesto Classics - Year 10 - Republished January 2006 - Page 37