Insects to conquer the Moon

A year selena

According to the city of space in Toulouse, the year 2019 will be under the sign of the exploration of the Moon. 50 years after the first steps of the human being on our satellite, the various space agencies are eager to return. Exploration is progressing well with the Chinese Space Agency (CNSA) and its Chang’e 4 mission active on the far side of the Moon, a return of lunar soil samples (regolith) is also expected, very soon , by another mission. The aim of the regolith analysis is to measure the mineral and surface water resources as well as to have a better idea of ​​the ground structure of our satellite. In-depth knowledge of the regolith could help to design habitats for future settlers. The European Space Agency (ESA) is currently working on a lunar village project open to participating nations. This project is scheduled to culminate in 2030.

A colonization of our satellite ?

If we talk about colonists on the Moon it is not to stay a few days but rather several months or years, and especially a much more massive presence on the International Space Station (ISS). One of the key issues in this type of project is how to maintain a healthy population in hostile conditions such as space, while controlling costs and the volume available?

The question of refueling

The food supply could of course be similar to what is done for the occupants of the international space station, that is to say by regularly sending tanker ships from the Earth to the moon. And these same ships will have to be returned to Earth or reused on site. In both cases, the bill may be salty because unlike the 400 km altitude of the ISS, the Moon is about 300 000 km from the Earth, a straw therefore. The ideal would be to produce all the necessary food on site.

A major problem

Do not imagine vast meadows where some herds of cows graze peacefully … no, you have to be as compact as possible and therefore find a solution to produce enough on a few square meters. As for the production of animal proteins, which are better assimilated by the organism than those of plant origin, the all-round champion is undoubtedly …. the insect. Recall some figures from the FAO: to produce 1kg of beef we need 200m ² whereas to produce the same amount of insect we need only 15m ² only. And this is just one of many advantages of insect breeding. The production of insects on the Moon would remain a great first but it is a method which is now mastered, it remains nevertheless to optimize it but if the objective is to feed on another celestial body that our good old Earth then the game is worth the candle.