The notion of siting a colony on the Moon originated before the space age. In 1638 Bishop John Wilkins wrote A Discourse Concerning a New World and Another Planet, in which he predicted a human colony on the Moon.[4] Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (18571935), among others, also suggested such a step.[5] From the 1950s onwards, a number of concepts and designs have been suggested by scientists, engineers and others.
In 1954 the noted science-fiction author Arthur C. Clarke proposed a Lunar base of inflatable modules covered in Lunar dust for insulation.[6] A spaceship, assembled in low Earth orbit, would launch to the Moon, and astronauts would set up the igloo-like modules and an inflatable radio mast. Subsequent steps would include the establishment of a larger, permanent dome; an algae-based air purifier; a nuclear reactor for the provision of power; and electromagnetic cannons to launch cargo and fuel to interplanetary vessels in space.
In 1959, John S. Rinehart suggested that the safest design would be a structure that could "[float] in a stationary ocean of dust", since there were, at the time this concept was outlined, theories that there could be mile-deep dust oceans on the Moon.[7] The proposed design consisted of a half-cylinder with half-domes at both ends, with a micrometeoroid shield placed above the base.
