Abstract：

Before construction of an international lunar base can begin, several
scientific issues must be addressed, including the abundance and
distribution of critical resources such as water, oxygen, metals, and the
potential fusion fuel 3He.  Each of these resources offers the possibility
of lowering the cost of operations on the Moon, or of returning a profit,
but each also has a variety of associated engineering challenges.  All these
activities must be conducted in an extremely harsh, dusty environment with
no air or water and very wide monthly temperature cycles.  We shall survey
the challenges faced by planners of a lunar base, including the operating
environment, requirements for new scientific knowledge, engineering
demonstrations of crucial technologies, and their relationships to the
choice of a location for a lunar base.

Biobibliography：

John S. Lewis is Professor of Planetary Sciences and Co-Director of the
Space Engineering Research Center at the University of Arizona.  He was
previously a Professor of Planetary Sciences at MIT and Visiting Professor
at the California Institute of Technology.