Both the U.S. and (the People’s Republic of) China are trying to establish the first lunar outposts, and it is possible that we will see lunar colonies within our lifetimes. When that happens, do you think there will be a movement towards independence, just as the colonies of Britain, France, Spain, etc. vyed for freedom? Would this be peaceful or violent, and how would either work? How realistic is an independent lunar nation, given the hostile living conditions? What would lunar culture look like? Would it be a mix of American and Chinese culture, or something new entirely?
Or do you think the Moon and other bodies in our Solar System will become internationally run (and protected) areas, a bit like how Antarctica is on Earth?
I do not see how they could be independant from earth. No athmosphere, extreme temperatures, constantly bathed in radiation. Maybe an antartic style base but nothing more than that.
The cost of supplying food is going to push colony owners to make the colonies self sufficient with food.
We have Arctic and Polynesian parts of the world imported food prices are already insanely expensive. When you Antarctica like research bases, the food cost gets borne by government entities because the cost is even higher due to shipping. Now, add a zero or two to the shipping cost to get food to the Moon.
So, once a Moon base gets to the size of a McMurdo station, someone is likely going to figure it will be cheaper to build the ability to grow food on the Moon rather than ship everything from Earth.
It doesn’t even have to be a complete meal at first. The Moon could start with basic starches like potatoes and rice to supplement dehydrated meat and vegetables. Over time, more crops get added and some protein like shrimp and chicken are able to be grown on the Moon. You might not get a steak, but it could be enough to make some colonies mostly self sufficient.
We’ll see, I might be very uneducated but I find it very unlikely that we ever get anything of suffient scale built up on the moon. Let alone the fact that humans can’t be in space for very long considering the detrimental effects it has on our bodies.