One Week on the Moon (Who I Would Take and What I Would Leave Behind)

A colony on the moon. This idea has been theorized in many works of fiction and scientific debates. But we have a few steps to take before we can reach that theoretical paradise; one is seeing how humans fare surviving for just a few weeks on the moon. In this essay I will explore the personality traits and basic skills that my crew would most likely have. As well as a technology I would leave for future explorers. The technology that I would leave on the moon to help future astronauts explore would be an experimental bio garden. Humans have not been known to survive well without proper exposure to earthly conditions, if a habitat could be set up that would replicate these conditions (artificial sunlight, oxygen production, etc.) for human benefit it might better our migration through the stars. The personnel, I would prefer to have a small crew of five to seven, including myself. The smaller numbers would cause less complications on travel to the moon and it would be more comfortable for the crew while living in habitats. My crew would ideally consist of the pilot, a botanist, engineer/programmer, medical officer, and an astrobiologist. Each of these professions would be critical to my mission, a pilot to get the crew to the moon--and back. An engineer for if anything mechanical (or digital) were to go wrong on the shuttle, or habitat. A medical officer to help oversee the mental and physical health of the crew. Someone with experience in botany, and the astrobiologist to help with the technology left behind and to study the reactions of plant species in different foreign environments. I personally believe that these conditions would improve the outcome of this experiment and further our understanding of how the human body and mind reacts to space travel.