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Deep craters aside, the lunar poles get the most sunshine of any points on the moon. Lunar "night" lasts ~29.5 earth days at the equator, but much less, on aver
by Reason077 5y ago
Deep craters aside, the lunar poles get the most sunshine of any points on the moon. Lunar "night" lasts ~29.5 earth days at the equator, but much less, on average, at the poles.
You get similarly extreme cold temperatures (-180C or so) anywhere on the moon during darkness, even at the equator.
- Retric 5y agoYou get those temperatures on the surface, but the day and night time temperatures average out underneath the surface. As the moon has no atmosphere, long term human habitation needs to take place under the surface to survive micrometeorite bombardment. Larger impactors throw up huge clouds of debris which then impact across the moon up to the moons escape velocity ~2400 m/s ~5400 mph. There are some advantages to those temperatures being so consistent, but a compromise location is probably the better alternative.
- JoeAltmaier 5y agoThe big advantage of 'sunlight all the time' makes the pole the trump-card for lunar habitation. At least for the energy collectors. I suppose the energy could be bounced off a satellite to be delivered most anywhere on the moon. So habitation could be elsewhere. That lack of atmosphere has its advantages!