In January, European Space Agency's (ESA) head Jan Woerner shared his vision for the Moon Village, which could be the successor of the International Space Station (ISS) by 2030s.
Now, the ESA is pushing forward with its plans to set up this permanent base on the moon. The Moon Village can help mankind in its journey to Mars.
Earlier in April, Woerner again shared ESA's vision for the Moon Village during the 32nd Space Symposium. The lunar base will be a collaborative project among spacefaring nations.
As a successor to the ISS, the Moon Village could serve as the "ground" base not just for scientific pursuits but also mining, business and even tourism. The European agency believes that the Moon could be the next human destination as it is the nearest to the planet.
Moreover, optimizing our planet's nearest companion could help in mankind's pursuit towards the journey to Mars and beyond.
"I think we should go first to the moon and then further on. ... I would not call Mars the ultimate goal. I am quite sure humans will go further," said Woerner during the conference's April 13 session titled "New Generation Space Leaders Panel: The Future of Human Spaceflight."
The ESA head explained that the term "village" does not pertain to a community with houses, a church or a town hall. Rather, the so-called Moon Village refers to a community of people who live and work together, and in this case, the place happens to be outside of our planet.
"In the Moon Village we would like to combine the capabilities of different spacefaring nations, with the help of robots and astronauts. The participants can work in different fields, perhaps they will conduct pure science and perhaps there will even be business ventures like mining or tourism," added Woerner in an interview.
NASA's goal is to get astronauts to Mars towards the end of the 2030s. The Mars mission requires collaboration from the international space community.
The ESA's Moon Village can be a "stepping stone" or a test platform for farther explorations in space. Experts around the world across various disciplines can contribute to its creation. Eventually, it could become the stellar pit stop for all space explorations from various countries.
