THE European Space Agency (ESA) is planning a village on the moon to replace the International Space Station orbiting earth that looks like it has come straight from the “Teletubbies.”

    Professor Jan Woerner, the future head of the ESA, said construction could start on “Lunarville” to replace the station in 2024 and would spark huge innovations.

    “The construction of a station on the moon would trigger a huge surge of technological innovation on earth,” Woerner said.

    The back side of the moon, which we can’t see from earth, would provide the best conditions for research where telescopes could be set up to have an undisturbed view into the depths of space.

    “At the start, construction materials and food would take priority. Later it would be possible to produce water from hydrogen. Crops could be grown in greenhouses,” he said.

    “Researchers would remain for several months at a time. A permanent shuttle service needs to be established in the case of medical emergencies.”

    But costs may prove more of an obstacle than the harsh climate of space. The space station cost more than £75 billion (US$107 billion) and a moon village would cost even more.

    But Professor Woerner is confident that countries will come together to build it and the Technical University of Darmstadt in Germany is working on dwellings to be constructed there.

    A flight from earth with today’s technology would take around two days to cover the 230,000 miles (370,000 km) to the moon.

    Professor Woerner added, “There is still so much about the moon we don’t know. Like where it came from? And there are resources there which could prove valuable, like the gas Helium 3 which we do not have on earth.

    “Helium 3 is considered as an energy source for the future which is vital for nuclear fusion,” he said.

    (SD-Agencies)