SpaceX giddily promises humanity a permanent base on the Moon - can they pull it off?
As science fiction fans know, the word moonbase was coined by L. Ron Hubbard in 240,000 Miles Straight Up, published by Thrilling Wonder Stories in 1948.
Robert Heinlein ties with Hubbard on this one; RAH uses this phrase in Space Cadet, published that same year:
A cabal of high-ranking officers, acting from Moon Base, tried to seize power over the entire world. The plot would have been successful had not Lieutenant Dahlquist disabled every atom-bomb rocket at Moon Base by removing the fissionable material from each and wrecking the triggering mechanisms.
Hubbard does not get pride of place for earliest description of a lunar habitation. As far as I know, the moon dome from Ray Cummings 1931 novel Brigands of the Moon was the first scientifically accurate description in science fiction. See also moon-dome from Last Blast (1952) by Eric Frank Russell.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 4/6/2024)
Tumblin' Tumbleweed Rovers To Eplore Mars
'His sensors out and working, and the whirring of the tape that sucked up sight and sound and shape and smell and form...' - Clifford Simak,
Reflect Orbital Sunlight On Demand
'I don't have to tell you about the seven two-mile-diameter orbital mirrors that circulate around the satellite, making it habitable.'
Elon Musk Wants Data Centers In Space
'Internally it’s made up of millions of components, but the most important ones are the thinking and memory parts of the Mind proper.' - Iain Banks, 1987.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!)
is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for
the Invention Category that interests
you, the Glossary, the Invention
Timeline, or see what's New.
Tumblin' Tumbleweed Rovers To Eplore Mars
'His sensors out and working, and the whirring of the tape that sucked up sight and sound and shape and smell and form...'
Reflect Orbital Sunlight On Demand
'I don't have to tell you about the seven two-mile-diameter orbital mirrors that circulate around the satellite, making it habitable.'