Astronomy and Space

Colonization of the Moon

The colonization of the Moon is a process or concept employed by some proposals for robotic or human mining and settlement endeavours on the Moon. The use of the term "colonization" has become contested for perpetuating colonial frameworks in space. Laying claim to the Moon has been declared illegal through international space law and no state has made such claims, despite having a range of probes and artificial remains on the Moon. While a range of proposals for missions of lunar colonization, exploitation or permanent exploration have been raised, current projects for establishing permanent crewed presence on the Moon are not for colonizing the Moon, but rather focus on building moonbases for exploration and to a lesser extent for exploitation of lunar resources and energy. Overall, there is a greater tendency to shift industrial activities to the Moon. The commercialization of the Moon is a contentious issue for national and international lunar regulation and laws (such as the Moon treaty).

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See also

• ▸Apus
• ▸Cro-Magnon
• ▸68 Cygni

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