Moon Base Whipple
Disclaimer:
based on incomplete results and flights of imagination
There
is a crater at the Moon’s north pole called named after Robert Peary, a
famed explorer of Earth’s north pole. However, while the terrestrial pole
is known for being cold and unfriendly, its lunar counterpart, while still cold
and unfriendly, seems to be the most welcoming spot on the Moon’s surface
for humans.
The
much smaller Crater Whipple, on Peary’s northern edge, is named after
Fred Whipple, originator of the “dirty snowball” theory of comet
nuclei. In this capacity, he’d no doubt be gratified to learn that the
lunar crater bearing his name is a prime candidate for having deposits of water
ice, being in perpetual shadow.
Just
next to it is a highland which is conversely in almost perpetual sunlight,
giving it a friendly (for the Moon) ambient temperature of -50 C, and constant
power for a lunar base’s solar cells, or maybe sunlight for crops. The
base might be self sustaining if there is water nearby, which also breaks down
into rocket propellant:
Links:
SKYLON:
The British Black Glass Zeppelin Riding Columns of Steam to Outer Space
Wikipedia
article on Crater Whipple