Moon Village Implementation

Moon Village is a concept that seeks to transform the unprecedented international cooperation in space exploration and the new approaches for lunar exploration and exploitation into a set of concrete actions, creating an environment where both international cooperation and the commercialization of space can thrive in a sustainable manner. Moon Village brings together efforts from the private sector, governments, academics and others to explore and use the Moon in a sustainable manner. Realizing the Moon Village will be a major step forward for the peaceful development of humankind.

The Moon Village is not a literal village on the Moon, it is not an International Space Station on the Moon, and it is not a single science facility. Rather, it is a diverse community of projects carried out by stakeholders from different fields (for example, technical, scientific, cultural, economic) working together under the auspices of lean coordination mechanisms and/or common standards (i.e., technical, and ethical), and globally harmonizing existing resources to reach further-term aims. It acts as a catalyst for new alliances between public and private entities, including non-space industries and operators. Additionally, the Moon Village will provide a strong inspirational and educational foundation for future generations.

A basic feature of the Moon Village is the principal of broad international cooperation. Through this, it can catalyze government, scientific research, education, and industry activities globally, stimulating a virtuous cycle of economic development by all and for all, which represents a key factor for the peaceful future of humankind. The Moon Village concept comprises a wide range of activities, with elements ranging across automatic/robotic activities, human-tended operations and eventual human settlement to achieve sustainable lunar orbital and surface operations, serving multiple purposes on an open-architecture basis. Government and private funding will provide the resources to build necessary equipment and facilities by industry allowing scientific research and creation of new products and services. The infrastructure to be built will also foster the creation of a governance and contractual framework to support the economy of new markets. Specifically, a significant value of the Moon Village will be its role as a proving ground for missions further out in the solar system.

The implementation of the Moon Village is explained in this diagram:

The Moon Village Association carried out in 2020 the definition of a common level playing field for sustainable lunar activities, known as the Best Practices for Sustainable Lunar Activities.

The Moon Village Association in 2021 is hosting the Global Expert Group on Sustainable Lunar Activities (GEGSLA) to engage stakeholders from all over the world in the definition of a common level playing field for sustainable lunar activities.