If the Moon does indeed have much more water than was thought on the surface then perhaps there might be even more water under the surface which these tunnels could lead to. One use of the tunnels could be to grow food as well as experimenting various ways to terraform a planet from the inside out. How the process would work is a tunnel would be located that was large enough to fit some basic equipment through such as a Robbins ABM designed to fit onto the Chariot chassis. The Chariot ABM,either in tracked or wheeled version would then core the tunnel out to a more rounded shape so that easier building of the tunnel is achieved. Once the tunnel has been cored out modules similar to those of the I.S.S. would be lowered into the tunnel. The modules would be used for worker habit facilities, monitoring facilities and resource storage facilities. The entrace to the tunnel would have to be to be sealed up using vacuum pumps to keep the atmosphere inside of the tunnel from leaking out into space. Once the Chariot ABM had cored out the tunnels and areas designed for the modules to be placed along with the utility lines routed from the surface to the modules and other stations the structuing of the tunnel would begin. The first layer would include the rails for the transport car's to traverse through the tunnel. The TC would be of similiar design to the Node Three I.S.S. Module that provides life sustaining facilities for the crew. Utility lines would run from the TC to the surface where they would connect to the solar power stations that supply them with power or the utility lines would run from the surface to junction block houses from the surface resource collection area and then to the TC via the utility lines. The location of the TC relative to the surface of the Moon would determine whether the lines run directly to the surface or from junction block houses. The next layer would be the irrigation piping . The irrigation piping would run from the surface to each level of the tunnel where the food is grown along with being routed into storage tanks for emergency use. The water that would supply each tunnel complex would come from harvested North and South Pole Ice shelves. The reason that I have chosen the North and South Poles to harvest the ice from is that by reducing the amount of frozen ice at both poles could reduce the chance of a mega storm erupting which can be seen in the movie: The Day After Tomorrow. The Polar Ice would be transported in modules of the same shape of the I.S.S. Kibo science module. After arriving the module would be connected to the sub-surface piping tubing along with the heating element that would first melt the ice within the container after which the water would be sent to a storage facility and then into the complex' tubing network. The total amount of glacial volume that could be taken to the Moon would be 155.16954434611 cubic meters, 171 short tons of glacial ice or 40,990 fluid gallons of useable water. The next portion of the build would include layer the inside of the tunnel with MTR Lining. The MTR Lining would be affixed to hardened foam and then attached to the walls of the tunnel. The lighting for the grow tunnel would come from the 1500w Electronic Magnum XXXL 8 series of grow lights. The reason why I have chosen the to line the tunnel with MTR is so every available amount of heat can be used since the MTR is heat reflective and with reflect the heat back into the chamber instead of being absorbed by the Lunar soil.
Each level would stainless steel grating for the decking that would be bolted to the interior of the tunnel walls. The height of each level would be 7.344 yards or 11 feet the same height as the TC. The height of each level is designed to facilitate the entry or exit from the dorsal or ventral side of the TC during an emergency or for easier loading or unloading of material to each level. The Transfer Car itself would have two hatches built along the side of the module to allow for entry into the TC from either side. The hatches would be positioned on the TC closer to the bottom deck plating of each level. The TC would pass through the center of each level's grating.
The grow beds would be positioned around the walls interior and in beds bolted to the deck plating. Each grow bed box would be an enclosed circulation system that would pump both water and nutrients to the plants roots. Soil use would be limited as the effect of water bubbling up due to low gravity would cause the soil to not remain compacted enough to allow for proper fertilization. The lighting would be placed along the tunnel's wall's as well as being bolted to the level above it so that each light is positioned over a grow bed. Small 400w DEgrow lights would be built into the bottom of each box to simulate the heat of planets core that would allow the roots of the plant to grow larger and allow for bigger and larger crops to be grown. Falls located on each level would circulate the heat around inside of the tunnel so that dead heat or heat that is stagnant is kept from building up in one area that would cause the plants to wilt and die.
At the top of the tunnel would the vacuum sealing device that would would have a Joint Quest Airlock Module built into the ventral side of the sealing compartment to allow for access to the Lunar surface. The Transfer Car would have a docking mechinism fitted to the dorsal side of the module that would provide a pressurized connection with the Sealing Compartment.
The same consistency of gases present in Earth's atmosphere are pumped into the chamber under the same amount of pressure they are under on Earth. The reason being is that the gas pressure will create a barrier of force that the plants will need to grow through which will make their plant fibers strong and able to grow their fruit.
Although the project would be quite expensive to build in the long run the project would save space exploration money on having to send numerous ships to the Moon in order to resupply the colonies with food. The Lunar colonies could also export their exotic fruit, vegetables and nuts back to Earth to create a Lunar economy that would eventually be able to support it's launches and infrastructure building.
Each level would stainless steel grating for the decking that would be bolted to the interior of the tunnel walls. The height of each level would be 7.344 yards or 11 feet the same height as the TC. The height of each level is designed to facilitate the entry or exit from the dorsal or ventral side of the TC during an emergency or for easier loading or unloading of material to each level. The Transfer Car itself would have two hatches built along the side of the module to allow for entry into the TC from either side. The hatches would be positioned on the TC closer to the bottom deck plating of each level. The TC would pass through the center of each level's grating.
The grow beds would be positioned around the walls interior and in beds bolted to the deck plating. Each grow bed box would be an enclosed circulation system that would pump both water and nutrients to the plants roots. Soil use would be limited as the effect of water bubbling up due to low gravity would cause the soil to not remain compacted enough to allow for proper fertilization. The lighting would be placed along the tunnel's wall's as well as being bolted to the level above it so that each light is positioned over a grow bed. Small 400w DEgrow lights would be built into the bottom of each box to simulate the heat of planets core that would allow the roots of the plant to grow larger and allow for bigger and larger crops to be grown. Falls located on each level would circulate the heat around inside of the tunnel so that dead heat or heat that is stagnant is kept from building up in one area that would cause the plants to wilt and die.
At the top of the tunnel would the vacuum sealing device that would would have a Joint Quest Airlock Module built into the ventral side of the sealing compartment to allow for access to the Lunar surface. The Transfer Car would have a docking mechinism fitted to the dorsal side of the module that would provide a pressurized connection with the Sealing Compartment.
The same consistency of gases present in Earth's atmosphere are pumped into the chamber under the same amount of pressure they are under on Earth. The reason being is that the gas pressure will create a barrier of force that the plants will need to grow through which will make their plant fibers strong and able to grow their fruit.
Although the project would be quite expensive to build in the long run the project would save space exploration money on having to send numerous ships to the Moon in order to resupply the colonies with food. The Lunar colonies could also export their exotic fruit, vegetables and nuts back to Earth to create a Lunar economy that would eventually be able to support it's launches and infrastructure building.
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