Within just several decades, we're going to be having children born on the Moon. This unusual prediction was given to the media by professor Bernard Foing, an official representative of the European Space Agency (ESA). The 1st members of humanity born outside of Earth are expected to take their first breath in the year 2050, when entire families will be undertaking the journey from their home planet to become part of the colony on Earth's satellite that's expected to be set up very soon.
The ESA plans to build the lunar colony in 2030. Initially, there will be 6 to 10 people living there, primarily scientists, technicians and engineers. After they establish suitable living conditions for more people, the population of the colony is expected to be over 100 by around 2040.
In the year 2050, there are expected to be more than 1000 people living on the colony. Of course, this means that at that point the conditions will allow for self-sufficient living on the moon and there will be families among the teams living there. It is completely natural then for them to start having children, the professor tells AFP.
These statements by the ESA representative were give at the beginning of September at this year's European Planetary Science Congress in Riga, Latvia. He is convinced that science now has the potential to allow the creation of colonies outside our own planet, while technology will allow for their self-sufficient existence and expansion.
He likens the future human expansion on the Moon to that of the development of the railroad, when new towns sprung up around the newly created railroad stations, followed by business.
Also at the Congress in Riga, the Director General of the ESA, Johann-Dietrich Wörner, proposed that the orbital International Space Station be replaced by a permanent lunar colony. The ISS is planned for decommission in 2024, while prof. Wörner offers a Moon settlement as the next phase in joint international space projects.
