Moon, a celestial body closest to Earth, had long been desired to be occupied. With the recent advancements in technology, the initial steps to discovering it have been taken.
The first robot from India soft-landed on the moon in 2023
The first human from India landed on the moon in 2060
By that time, humans from other nations had made multiple trips to the moon with advanced rocket ships.
EARTH 2186
A boy RONE is born to a doctor’s family who treats diseases occurring due to exposure to an uninhabitable environment. Scientists are continuously working to better the moon’s atmosphere.
EARTH 2023
It was known that the moon being 1/4th the mass of Earth had low gravitational pull and a lower escape velocity. This made it impossible for the Moon to hold up gases in its space making a vacuum-like surrounding. And so unlike Earth which contains billions of molecules per cubic meter, the moon can hold up to only a few hundred.
Dr Potter was spearheading the moon mission. Someone fascinated with the moon from childhood, Dr Potter assembled Dr Potter Jr and other brilliant scientists from around the world to create an artificial atmosphere on the moon and make a habitable environment for humans to live in.
Recently, Dr Potter identified a thin atmosphere comprising few gases in the moon’s atmosphere. In order to increase its space density it was important to design a strategy that could make its atmosphere closest to that of Earth.
With the advancement in space technologies, these scientists kept on researching the chemical compositions of the moon. Soon frozen pockets of water were discovered in the regolith as identified by the US Space Agency (USSA). This was further confirmed by an unmanned mission from the Indian Space Agency (ISA). Later, Dr Potter’s team found traces of oxygen, and carbon in loose and combined form along with radioactive elements on the moon.
This helped scientists, globally, propose that technological intervention may support life on the moon, as it is the closest celestial body to the Earth and carried frozen water pockets.
Dr Potter, Dr Potter Jr, and their team started pondering over what could best be done to create an atmosphere on the moon.
Dr Potter, “If Earth’s magnetic field results in an ionosphere shield around it to deflect or neutralize solar winds, why can’t we have similar mechanisms on the moon also?”
Dr Potter Jr, “This certainly looks like a great idea to start with, certainly will take us one step closer to inhabiting on moon. But the major task of creating an atmosphere would still remain.”
Dr Potter mulls a bit and then suggests, “We need more than just a magnetic field, a gravitational pull as big as that of Earth’s to trap the gases.”
Dr Potter Jr suggests naively, “Can’t we utilize the moon’s spin or increase its rotation to create a centrifugal force?”
Dr Potter, “We could if that would result in pull rather than a push, but I am afraid that as merry-go-round throws kids out of its space, this will further push the atmosphere away.”
There is a deep silence in the room. Suddenly after a moment, Dr Potter has a smile on his face. He comes up with a very simple yet elegant approach which may work in the long run.
Dr Potter, “I think we should add more mass to the moon, simply by shifting some from the Earth.”
Dr Potter Jr exclaims, “Eureka!”
After discussing at the global forum, many but not all Earth-bound governments agree to dedicate land from their nations to be added to the moon. Global Space Agencies work together tirelessly to start building advanced rockets for this purpose.
The leap of humanity was hanging on all the scientific efforts to transform the moon’s atmosphere into breathable for earthlings.
EARTH 2086
In the last 6 decades, based on the research of late Dr Potter, late Dr Potter Jr and their team (which included their children), advanced calculations determined the exact mass to be added to the moon to facilitate atmosphere buildup. Many advanced rockets were sent to the moon carrying cargo to be permanently stationed there.
Other than increasing the moon's mass, the cargo dispersed on the moon also changed the surface composition locally.
While it’s been decades, top-notch scientists, following the legacy of “The Potters”, also designed megaton machines emitting magnetic fields and stationed them on the moon to avert solar radiations.
Another challenge that the creation of an atmosphere on the moon averted was the extreme day and night temperatures. On the moon, the day temperature reached 125° Celsius, and nights were about -125° Celsius chilling.
However, the major caveat that Potters missed in their analysis was the timeframe needed for gases to collate as an atmosphere. To circumvent this problem, a group of scientists designed an exhaust machine to emit oxygen into the moon’s atmosphere based on the frozen water pockets from the regolith. In short, the objective was to infuse oxygen into the atmosphere by using a nuclear-powered machine that electrolyzed the buried frozen water into hydrogen and oxygen taking radioactive compounds as inputs. The hydrogen released was stored for further usage as a fuel.
This machine was 1/4th the size of the International Space Station and was stationed by the USSA on the moon in collaboration with other space agencies around the world.
They studied the moon’s day and night weather by utilizing the spectroscopy-laden robots which were solar-powered and designed to last 100 years.
Over the next hundred years, the moon’s atmospheric composition was studied in detail and was found to contain massive amounts of densely packed oxygen and other life-supporting gases.
With self-doubt, technical challenges, and a lack of vision there were setbacks but the scientific community showed promise and unwavering support throughout the way.
EARTH 2210
Since the advancements on the moon’s atmosphere in 2186, many humans have made their way to the moon in groups. In spite of these improvements, currently, the maximum day temperature reaches 65° Celsius and the night reaches as low as -40° Celsius.
The boy RONE born to the doctor’s family was raised well learning the nitty gritty of moon engineering. After earning his way through an advanced engineering degree, he established a group to study the moon’s atmosphere from the earth at the very famous Moon Institute of Technology (MIT).
He remotely studies the gaseous envelope around the moon and assesses if the interplanetary forces affect this envelope around its space. Moreover, he also collaborates with the scientists on the moon who study the moon’s weather from close range and also its atmosphere as seen from the surface.
Since increasing the mass of the moon, its sky which earlier looked pitch dark was now seen as a mixture of various colors due to the gaseous composition of its atmosphere, unlike Earth’s blue sky.
RONE says in a global meet, “High gravity zones on the moon are the areas with thicker atmospheric layer and so these spots are more suitable to build newer pods”.
To avoid any environmental disorder, protective moon pods have been setup near the high gravity zones with the most advanced life support systems, hydroponic gardens, and scientific laboratories. The technology to build such shelters already existed way back in 2023 since the launch of the International Space Station. It only got more advanced from there!
As time passed, the moon became even more habitable to earthlings. The once rocky terrain became a lush green world filled with humanity.
The efforts that “The Potters” laid through 2023 till their demise transformed the lives of many humans beyond their imagination.
The crosstalk between the scientific societies on the Earth and the Moon ensured the moon became a technological utopia. Implementation of advanced agricultural methodologies expanded the scope to inhabit more humans on the Moon.
But while authorities on Earth controlled who would dwell on the moon, the population on Earth had peaked in 2150 itself. Resources were depleting, there was overcrowding and Disease X had wiped out 500 million people from the face of the earth by 2150 itself.
As years passed by, many more humans traveled to the moon, but it was still a fraction of the population currently living on the earth. Primarily, although humans had been working to occupy the moon for more than a century, the variety of technical glitches was far more than anticipated. Thus, the moon was occupied at a medium pace of 100,000 people every 5 years starting 2230.
Back on Earth, the situation turned from bad to worse. While mega cities became overcrowded, rural areas suffered from poor utilities and food supplies due to which there were deaths. Governments failed to control the crisis and were wholly relying on scientists for a miracle.
Earth had seen in the past starting from a pandemic in 2020, that in an emergency-like situation, global authorities relied solely on scientists. In the current situation as well, all the hopes were on scientists.
But since all the bright minds were on the moon, it was indispensable for the authorities on Earth to reach out to their moon counterpart. Seeing the panic amongst global governments the moon authorities, with some hiccups, offered advanced tech solutions for sustainable technologies, food production, and safe energy.
The planetary alliance in 2250 between the Earth and the Moon resulted in a turning point for the survival of Earth. With massive technology transfer, Earth got together to clean its atmosphere and launch massive reforestation amongst other things. More so, many novel technologies were imported for faster tree growth without affecting the soil properties.
Soil conservation was initiated as after the moon dump, limited amounts of earthly soil were left for habitation. Soil from some of the dried-up water bodies was used for its conservation and brought back to Earth’s surface level. These soils were altered with the moon’s agrotechnology to adapt to different crop production on Earth.
The environment on Earth was reinstated and by 2256 Earth had become habitable for its current population. Also, collaborative efforts between Earth and the Moon upgraded the transport efforts to 500,000 humans per 5 years as compared to the previous 100,000.
As they say, “all is well that ends well”. The rise of the civilization on the Moon was not an indication of the threat on Earth but bestowed harmony between the two celestial bodies.
However, all was not well on Earth as a rogue space scientist, along with his team, was just waiting for the right time for Earth to rejuvenate. He wanted to disrupt the unity between the Earth and the Moon by malfunctioning the advanced magnetic generators on the moon. His intentions were to demand fortune and declare himself as the king of the reenergized Earth.
Rogue Scientist exclaims, “We will hack into the network of the control system of that specific satellite orbiting around the earth.”
Member 1, “How do you propose we go about it?”
Rogue Scientist, “I have performed exact calculations and designed the code to break into its network, with the control key in my hand there is no stopping us.”
Member 1 questions, “Why do you have the control key?”
Rogue Scientist reverts in secrecy, “A secret that I can share with no one including you my close associate.”
Soon the Rogue Team cracks into the control system and hacks the satellite which was designed to shoot solar lasers on Earth to resolve geopolitical tensions.
They covertly turn the laser beam into a long-range targeting the magnetic generator on the Moon destabilizing its functioning. The atmosphere on the moon begins to go haywire and suddenly its people start experiencing anomalies not observed before.
Soon the brightest brain on the moon comes together and identifies that these anomalies are due to an external factor probably including the Earth. They reach out to RONE who is in charge of all the space-related activities and explain their situation to him.
Working together with the moon, RONE identifies the sinister plot of the Rogue Team to disturb the Moon’s magnetic field and cause celestial conflict. Over time, the Moon repairs their magnetic generator and further launches anti-laser satellites around its atmosphere.
On Earth, RONE uncovers the mystery of Rogue Scientist unmasking him as his own son. Being RONE’s son he had access to the control key and planned a sinister plot with greater ease.
The Moon was drenched once again in the protective shield of its magnetic field, maintaining its atmosphere and protecting its civilization. The attack although successful was not entirely deteriorating, but ended up moving back Moon’s civilization by a decade.
The Moon authorities requested RONE to move to its premises with his immense knowledge and share it with its scientists.
RONE (now 84 years old), a descendant of Potters, looked through the window in his pod, gazing at the horizon in his new and magical adobe. Once an unattainable dream, the moon had now become the hope of humanity and the spirit of science and human imagination.