The Final Frontier?

I am sure that by now most people have heard the news that NASA has discovered water on the moon. In my opinion, this in itself is incredible but after I read the article “Water On The Moon” by Michio Kaku on the Wall Street Journal website, I realized that this discovery will change the idea of “space” and “place” altogether. In his article, the author not only relates the news of the discovery but also discusses the new possibilities that water creates for space travel. He points out that water contains hydrogen which can be used for fuel. This means that spacecrafts will not need to carry as much to start with and would be able to refuel on the moon. Water also contains oxygen which people can use for breathing. These reasons alone are enough to start contemplating a possible colony on the moon, which could be used as an in-between for further space exploration. Even as I write this I am aware of how sci-fi and futuristic it all sounds. Building a colony on the moon could potentially lead to building a colony on Mars, the ramifications of this is enough to rethink the term geography. Scholars would have to reconsider the meanings of terms such as “colonization” as well as what it is to dwell. It would also change concepts of scale in enormous ways. If there was a permanent colony on the moon, it would mean a giant leap in astronomical research as well. We would be able to send people, space crafts, cameras and satellites much farther into outer space for a far less expensive price. The information we would acquire could potentially give us a whole new understanding of our sense or space, place and scale on a far grander level.
The article referred to in this blog can be found through the following link
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748704431804574539454196040232.html
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