Moon Industry & Geography
The Moon (Near Side & Far Side Map)
Places:
1) Fort Apollo (America)
Fort Apollo is a military complex located in the Sea of Tranquillity on the lunar surface. It was built by machines over the course of a decade and officially established as a United States Space Force military base in 2082. It has been operational ever since. It has been expanded over the decades and now contains several large civilian complexes, but still legally remains a military base.
2) Zorya (Russian)
Based at the Luna-9 landing mission. The Russian settlement, Zorya, was the third colony to come to the Moon and has blended with the grey landscape. The residential structure has taken to heart the brutalist modular lunar housing where only the greenery stands out. Zorya is the host of the moon’s annual hackathon and has the most technological offices mainly focused on the ai for automated machinery and mechs on the moon.
3) Chandra (India)
Based at the Chandrayaan-1 crash site. At the heart of the colony lies the Chandrayaan-1 crash site where a memorial and museum lie documenting India’s space program and the hardships of the Chandrayaan-1 mission. Chandra, also known as “The moon marble”, is coveted for its colourful buildings and the beauty of it. The Chandra plumbing and water department also acts as the overseer to the Ice processing facility on the near side of the moon known as “Barph”.
4) Chang'e (China)
Based near the Yutu-2 rover site. Said rover is in the city's national museum. Unlike the other colonies, the Chang’e authorities openly display their continued association to the Chinese government on Earth. The colony was the second to come to the moon and was at the forefront of boring and train line construction, currently they continue to handle most of the public transport on the moon and work with the DCC on private transport.
5) Tsukuyomi (Japan)
The Japanese colony was built in around the craters near the Copernicus crate, this unique construction displaying a variety of elevated architecture is unlike other settlements and brings tourists to visit and see its’ beauty. Since Tsukuyomi stands near the centre of all settlements it is a melting pot of cultures where the annual Lunar agency meetings are held.
6) Kontos Colony (Antikythera)
The Kontos Colony is governed and owned by the Church Of Antikythera. It is an independant state that acts as a social hub for Antikythera activity on the lunar surface. Standing proudly at the centre of the colony is the vast Antikythera HQ which is where the council meet weekly to discuss and debate important matters and also Govern Kontos. A peaceful, near utopian society on the surface that rules it's people with the Antikythera Mechanism, anyone seen to be disrespectful to the church is treated as a felon and is dealt with harshly.
7) Daintree Commerce Company (DCC)
Mostly a huge trading complex, very work orientated. Due to the city's elevation launching vessels to carry freight is easier than it normally would allowing them to have more efficiently organised deliveries. The company is the largest trading company on earth and was one of the pioneers of E-commerce; allowing individuals to access a plethora of goods to be delivered to their doorstep. Originally founded by the two Australian brothers, Mark & Jeff Brown, the the company that used to only deal in deliveries has been branching out into many different sectors to truly dominate the market, the newest one being moon mining.
Crios
The Crios telescope is a space observation facility focused on making their predictions more accurate. Although only recently having been finished, construction of the complex has lasted since the Church of Antikythrea's colony has been on the moon and has faced many obstacles in its' path to completion.
The Absolutely Gargantuan Telescope (AGT)
The AGT is a huge scientific complex around a crater at the moon’s north pole; the telescope was built in a collective effort by the American, Russian, Indian, Chinese, and Japanese colonies as to further global space exploration. The telescope sits in the centre of the crater that the complex is built around and has a mirror approximately 100m in diameter. The AGT complex is a science park facilitating not only space exploration but a vast array of another scientific research.
Mining
On the moon three kinds of resources that are wanted for both earth and the moon. The resources helium-3, rare earth metals and ice can all be obtained in the moon’s lithosphere. Additionally, the use of explosives in any form is prohibited because it would have on the landscape and possibly the colonies.
Surface mining
As implied surface mining is done on the surface of the moon. The main aim of this is to collect as much Helium-3 imbedded in the soil as possible, by first loosening the hardened soil using augers, drills, saws, and scoops. These devices often take shape in the form specialised construction vehicles but can be used by mechs that are often fitted with tracks and other equipment to help manoeuvre and prevent accidents. The helium -3 obtained is then separated from the soil and turned into gas to be used for fuel, although helium-3 is the primary reason to surface mine other items such as basalt and ice can be taken. Ice obtained from surface mining however is harder to process and as such is not done unless absolutely needed to.
Sub-surface ore mining
Although metal veins come in an abundance in the moon’s underground the caverns and solid that enclose the veins of ore can be delicate compared to that one earth. As such sub-surface mining is almost exclusively done with mechs; mech pilots often used drills, a modified form of pickaxe and pummelers/hammers all of which need to be handled with precision to not damage the surroundings which could cause damage to the landscaped and the mining operation.
Sub-surface Ice mining
Ice mining is like metal mining however the main differences is first the equipment being used and second of course the environment present in the underground. Due to the nature of ice, the terrain can be considered hazardous because of the potential of slips and falls, which when operating heavy machinery and being open to deep caverns can be dangerous. So not only do mechs need to be outfitted with saws and pummelers but also need to have sufficient grip on the ice meaning a mech has to have something akin to tracks or long limbs to get a hold of their surroundings to prevent hazards.
Other Industry and logistics
Farms
Large scale farms are situated at the moon's poles as to lessen the burden of controlling a regular climate allowing for stable plant growth. The farms were one of the first structure built on the moon as they were facilities that were built, packaged and shipped to the moon for instant construction. Since their establishment the facilitates have been expanded upon to facilitate the moon increasing populace. To maintain long-term sustainable water consumption the non-potable water processed from sewage and ice is used to water the plant life. Of course even though these farms house a large biological ecosystem, no livestock are bred to consume the grown plants as it costs too much to safely and humanely nurture them.
Water Filtration
The ice mined on the moon is filtered and sent into 2 main streams of potable production. The water sent for colony consumption is melted, filtered and then screened where as the water sent to earth is then also bottled and exported as premium lunar mineral water. Recycling the water used by colonies is necessary for not only farming but sustainable water usage, therefore not only is water treatment heavily scrutinized but wasteful water usage is looked down upon.
Processing and Trade
Transporting raw materials to the Earth is not profitable, as such most products being sent to earth are produced on the moon. One of the moon's key exports is helium-3 gas used for sustainable energy production on Earth; since the moon uses energy from the concentrated solar power plants along its' equator, the He-3 gas is not essential for moon life and industry. Since most primary sector work is on the far side of the moon it makes the logistics of manufacturing simpler by having the factories and means of production be there too. The fact that industry is situated far away from where most of the moon residents live may mean workers need to commute but allow for illicit sabotage to occur more easily as it is away from prying eyes. As the moon has been opened to allow for private companies to access the moon production has moved to being more business driven the public
The majority of delivery to earth is handled through the Daintree Commerce Company due to their ease of access as an established trading company on earth; logistics on the moon is usually handled by the same company handling the product. Due to ease of production most factories are kept on the far side of the moon
Transportation
Initial colonies struggled greatly to transport goods between each other due to the moons natural landscape and the limitations of land vehicles. Tunnels were bored from colony to colony to prepare for long term transport, initially electric trucks and cars took advantage of these underground roads. After several years of foundations being made, the lunar train was born; the train takes advantage of the low gravity on the moon and the usage of electromagnets to not only carry more goods than it would do on earth but also make use of jump start system, which exists at each station, to quickly accelerate the train to cruising speed.
These trains minimise travel time and efficiently use energy but due to the high acceleration caused by the jump start, the system is only used for freight and other logistics requiring no citizens on board. Unlike trains on earth, the normal public transportation trains on the moon are outfitted with seatbelts in all seats to allow customers to have a comfortable, risk free commute. Lunar trains are mostly automated but may have staff on board to care for customers and or products.
Notes:
The Lunar Conservation Act - A law stating that anything obscuring the moons' natural beauty, from earth, must be built on the dark side or not at all. By using a combination of photography and simulation, the governing body of this law decides whether the site in question will dramatically change the landscape as perceived by commuters and citizens on earth. Because of this most industrial, scientific and illicit sites find themselves being constructed on the dark side of the moon. Because of this law the use of explosives heavily prohibited on the moon.
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