“I mean it,” Tom insisted. “Look! Some day I hope to colonize the moon. A base there would
40 SPACE SOLARTRON
yield all sorts of valuable data-not just about the moon itself, but the earth and the rest of the solar system.”
“You mean through observations by telescope from a lunar observatory?”
Ted asked.
“Exactly,” Tom replied. “What’s more, we might be able to mine valuable raw materials up there, such as that unknown hydrogen compound I picked up on our Swift spectroscope.”
Tom had made this exciting discovery a few months before, when he had won a victory over his Brungarian rivals in making the first landing on the moon.
“However,” Tom went on, “in order to set up a permanent base on the moon, we’ll need a tremendous supply of oxygen, food, and water. And the only way I can see to accomplish that is by perfecting my matter-making machine.”
“Wouldn’t it be possible to grow plants on the moon to feed your lunar colony?” Ted asked.
Tom shook his head. “No, because on the moon you’d get two weeks of daylight, followed by two weeks of darkness. Plants couldn’t survive under those conditions.”
“How about growing them underground by artificial light?” Bud suggested.
“Too wasteful of energy,” Tom pointed out. “Also, to feed even a few men, we’d need too large an area for raising the plants. And that’s not even mentioning the extremes of heat and cold which would kill oE most forms of plant life in short order.”
EXCITING PLANS 41
“Okay, I’m convinced!” Bud exclaimed. “How soon do we start for the outpost?”