Human colonization of the Moon was the focus of a University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹ talk by Henk Rogers, a global leader, philanthropist and UH alumnus.
Rogers is the founder of the International MoonBase Alliance, which brings together scientists, futurists, engineers and business people to make space colonization a reality. The organization is developing a prototype in Â鶹´«Ã½ to serve as a platform for developing the necessary technologies and standards for the eventual “MoonBase.” Rogers¡¯ vision is a spaceport built robotically on the Moon before the first settlers arrive.
Rogers first wants to build structures on the Moon¡¯s surface using robots controlled by scientists on Earth. Eventually, Rogers wants to send humans to the Moon to live in these structures and become self-sufficient. Some challenges that will need to be faced include dealing with the amount of radiation on the Moon—because on Earth, a majority of radiation is absorbed by the atmosphere, which the Moon does not have—and dealing with the large range of temperatures on the Moon¡¯s surface. One way to combat this is to build livable habitats underground.
“I want to have a permanent settlement on the Moon by the end of the decade,” Rogers told students and faculty in aerospace engineering—one of two concentrations for the . “And in another 10 years, we should have an industrial capability to build stuff using stuff on the Moon. We won¡¯t need resupply anymore.”
Rogers is also chairman of the (PISCES), a nonprofit organization bringing the business of space exploration to the state. The —one of PISCES¡¯s most prominent projects—is a Mars-like habitat on Mauna Loa that NASA uses as a research facility.
More about Rogers
Rogers is the founder and board chair of Blue Planet Foundation, an organization powering the way for 100% clean energy in Â鶹´«Ã½. He is also well-known among video game enthusiasts as one of his companies owns the worldwide rights to Tetris. Rogers studied computer science at UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹ 1973–75.
—By Marc Arakaki