Moon Society
The Moon Society is an international nonprofit 501(c)(3) educational and scientific organization dedicated to advancing the human settlement and development of the Moon through large-scale industrialization and private enterprise. Founded in 2000 by Gregory R. Bennett, it grew out of the Artemis Society International and took over that organization's membership services.
Mission
The Society's mission is to inspire and involve people from all walks of life in the study, exploration, and eventual settlement of the Moon — accelerating the day when civilian communities on the Moon make use of local resources through private enterprise, both to support the settlers themselves and to help address Earth's energy and environmental challenges. To that end the Society works both to remove obstacles to lunar development and to help lay its foundations.
Objectives
The objectives of the Society include, but are not limited to:
- Creating a spacefaring civilization that will establish communities on the Moon, and promoting large-scale industrialization and private enterprise there;
- Promoting interest in the exploration, research, development, and habitation of the Moon through conferences, the press, exhibits, and other educational means;
- Supporting scholarships, libraries, museums, and other means of encouraging the study of the Moon and related technologies;
- Stimulating the advancement of space and related technologies and encouraging entrepreneurial development;
- Bringing together people from government, industry, education, and the press to exchange information about the Moon;
- Promoting collaboration among societies and groups interested in developing and utilizing the Moon;
- Informing the public on matters related to the Moon; and
- Recognizing individuals and organizations that have contributed to lunar exploration, research, development, and habitation.
Activities and projects
- Lunarpedia — the Society's open, collaborative encyclopedia of lunar settlement (this wiki), together with its sister projects Marspedia and Spacepedia.
- Moon Miners' Manifesto (MMM) — the Society's long-running newsletter, founded in 1986 by the Lunar Reclamation Society.
- Analog research — Moon Society crews have conducted lunar-analog simulations, including a two-week moonbase simulation at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS crew #45) in 2006.
- Educational outreach through chapters and outposts in the United States and internationally.
Affiliations
The Moon Society works with the National Space Society and other space-advocacy organizations.