Stunning simulation shows what the Moon will look like with humans on it in 2075

Scientists think that in half a century we could have a fully fledged settlement on the moon – and a video shows what it might look like.

A simulation posted by the European Space Agency shows a whole town's worth of pods sitting on the lunar surface, with life-sustaining indoor plants and astronauts carrying out new experiments.

The structures are four-storeys high and sit on perhaps the most desirable real estate on the moon: the rim of the Shackleton crater beside the lunar south pole.

"Avoiding the crippling temperature extremes of the Moon’s two-week days and nights, this location offers near-continuous sunlight for solar power, an ongoing view of Earth and access to lunar water ice deposits in adjacent permanently-shadowed craters," writes the ESA.

Solar panels provide energy, vehicles land and take off from the site and a woman looks at a screen displaying the various support systems keeping the community alive.

This was the vision put forward by the ESA in 2021. Since then, India has become the first country to land near the site at the moon's south pole.

India's attempt to land its Chandrayaan-2 mission near the south pole in 2019 was unsuccessful, but the Chandrayaan-3 mission went off without a hitch, making it the fourth nation to reach the lunar surface.

However, a more recent attempt by a private US company, Astrobotic, was set to end in failure on Thursday.

The Peregrine spacecraft will be directed to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere and burn up.

The lander suffered a major propellant leak shortly after launching from Florida on its Vulcan rocket last week.

Sounds like a village on the moon might still be some way off.

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