Settlement on Moon: Artificial Gravity & Feasibility

[sid_galt]

If a settlement is ever setup on Moon, would it require artificial gravity. Would it be feasible to rotate such a large settlement using bearings and rockets?

 

[Phobos]

With one-sixth Earth's gravity, the moon would likely cause some medical problems for any long-term residents (e.g., bone strength loss). Creating artificial gravity sounds cost prohibitive (large tilt-a-whirl settlement? or is than an oxymoron?). Perhaps short-term stays would be feasible of we could develop a cheaper transporation system? Perhaps homesteaders would have to take up permanent residence?

 

[WarrenPlatts]

Actually, the Moon might make a great place for retired people to convalesce. It would be easy on your heart, and if you fell, you would be less likely to break a hip.

 

[turbo]

Given the importance of exercise to the maintenance of bone mass and muscle tone, you'd better plan on shipping Bowflex machines or something similar to keep those old folks in shape. Free weights? I don't think so. Boosting all that iron to the Moon would be expensive, and although it might seem fun to bench press 600-900 lbs, it could be mighty dangerous if you're not careful. The barbell might feel like it weighs only 100-150 lbs, but the mass and inertia of that barbell would be the same as here on Earth.

 

[WarrenPlatts]

Well, the retirement home I would build would have a giant swimming pool with a diving board. Imagine diving in 1/6th G! I wonder what swimming would be like.

 

[Taviii]

Probably it would feel like flying

 

[turbo]

Well, the retirement home I would build would have a giant swimming pool with a diving board. Imagine diving in 1/6th G! I wonder what swimming would be like.

You're going to send up enough water to swim in? Setting aside the giant pool, assuming that you have a modest-sized pool (10x20' with an average depth of 5'), that's just about 1000 ft³ of water. At 62.4 lb/ft³, you would be shipping up about twice the mass of an Apollo-mission lunar lander in water alone, to say nothing of the tanks, the rockets, reaction mass, guidance sysems, etc to de-orbit and land it. You might as well send up the iron free-weights.

Problem: if you did the cannonball off the springboard in 1/6th G (and managed not to hit your head on the ceiling!) you would hit the water with less velocity than here on Earth, but the water that you displace would splash up pretty high due to the low G's. Would your cannonball splash be equivalent to one you could make in an Earth-based pool?