Because these printers are now available for consumers at normal prices, in the future, we will purchase merely printing data instead of the product. So this trend actually moves away from mass-market productions and towards individualized items.

The European Space Agency (ESA) is now using this technology as the basis of a study, which researches to what extent it would be possible to print lunar buildings on the Moon with these printers. The interesting part is that one would use lunar rocks and soil from the Moon as printing material (in the form of dust that covers the Moon’s surface, known as regolith), and would therefore save all transportation to the Moon. ESA is working on this project together with the renowned London architect firm Foster+Partners, which have designed a lunar base in the shape of a dome. The architects have already proven their skill here on Earth with similar shaped structures, like the dome of the Reichstag building in Berlin.

According to the study, other building elements are also supposed to be created with 3D printers – right up to houses for lunar settlers. Of course, all of this is still a pie in the sky, because up until today, it is not even clear when the next human will tread on the Moon again. Scheduled lunar missions are being stopped again and again due to budgeting. We have indeed enough problems to solve here on Earth …

Particularly well-known is the image, where Simba dances across a tree trunk with his companions, which enables them to cross a large river in front of the backdrop of a gigantic full moon. This motif has also been used for various movie posters and can also be watched in the movie trailer:

The story of »The Lion King« touches some very primal areas of human life and its dramas. We thought it to be very exciting reading about the plot exhibiting similarities with Shakespeare’s »Hamlet«: the king (Mufasa) who was killed by his brother (Scar) and the story of the prince (Simba), who eventually avenges this act.

Maybe this is the recipe of success of these movies. The mixture of profoundly moving feelings and heavenly sceneries. For similar reasons, we enjoy looking at the Moon …

The »Moon Pie« consists of two round cookies (graham crackers), a filling of marshmallows and a coating, mostly chocolate. Originally, it had a diameter of approx. 4 inches (a full moon amongst the cookies, so to say) and was firstly produced in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It used to be the »working man’s lunch« for a long time, in combination with the Royal Crown Cola – just like a song goes by Big Bill Lister from the 50s: »Gimme a RC-Cola and a Moon Pie«

Everyone can decide for themselves, whether the »Moon Pie« is a delicacy. Since it has been around on this planet for almost 100 years, there seems to be something to it …

His song »Full Moon Song« from 2011 is one of those stories.  According to his own statement, this song came to fruition after a short stay in prison (from which he did not break out as stated in the lyrics, but was released on bail). He talks about freedom that now becomes significant to him and makes a new life possible. He wants to see the world through the eyes of a child and experience love without fear of losing something.

You don’t exactly find out a lot of personal things about Peter Bradley Adams in the Internet, also his year of birth remains hidden (one can detect though, that he should be over 40 from the line of the lyrics »Now I’m standing in the wake of forty years …«). Somehow this makes him likeable. He sings, as if his words were only aimed at oneself. This creates the feeling of closeness and privacy – at the same time, a part of him remains concealed. Most things that fascinate us, are based on this combination …

You can download the »Full Moon Song« for free on Peter Bradley Adams’s website in mp3 format. Good listening!

Free download at peterbradleyadams.com

Petrus van Schendel attended the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp and began to work as a portrait painter. He also created religious historical paintings, but soon turned towards the typical genre of moonlit sceneries.

His paintings often showed urban life situations, for example market scenes, where he created a mixture of artificial light (mostly candles or oil lamps) and the natural moonlight, and hence compared the yellowish candle light with the cool moonlight. The resulting colour contrast, still gives these pictures a fascinating expressiveness today (the depicted sceneries themselves, are nowadays less than spectacular and appear to be quite tame and tranquil). But how the light is being reflected in the faces of the characters, was pretty much the grand cinema in those days.

A glance at the past shows yet one more time that the Moon has been accompanying humans all along and has always fascinated them.

The picture »Moonrise, New Mexico«, was made, according to research, on Saturday 1st November 1941 at 4:49 pm MST on a trip that Ansel Adams was undertaking with his son Michael and his mentor and friend George Cedric Wright. Far away, you can the snow-covered mountains and above them the almost full moon in the sky. (The full moon in Hernandez was on Monday, 3rd November 1941 at 08:59:42 pm MST).

The special characteristic of this scenery lay in the constellation of the setting sun, which was behind Adam, and which made the crucifixes of the cemetery that laid in the foreground, light up white. There was only a moment of time to set up the plate camera and the wooden tripod in order to create exactly this one shot. And yet, this was really not the period of quick snapshots, but of the well thought-out and well prepared shots.  The more astonishing it is that this unique photograph has been accomplished. Maybe, it is precisely this lucky encounter of circumstance, which creates the power of this shot. Adams was capable of capturing the magic of the moment.

Ansel Adam’s photographs radiate a fascinating tranquility, which conveys a soothing contemplation to our hectic city mode. A look at these images of days gone by, lets us forget time.

There are three references to the Moon: firstly, the title »Moonlighting«, which initially lets one make the association to moonlight, but is obviously used for illicit work, the work after your day job in the moonlight, so to speak. Secondly, the name of the detective agency »Blue Moon«. And finally, on almost all cover images you can see Willis and Shepard in front of a  colossal full moon, which can be seen behind the skyline of Los Angeles. The title song with the same name, was naturally performed by Al Jarreau.

All in all, it is a nice piece of 80′s in the moonlight … when movies were still entertaining without a firework of special effects.

By the way: which scene can you still remember?

This is particularly about possible mineral resources, but also about the feasibility of creating moon colonies. Meanwhile, scientific studies have shown that the cultivation of plants – observed over extended periods of time – could create something like an atmosphere containing oxygen around the Moon. This is how a colonization on the Moon would be conceivable and it seems to be almost for certain that there should be enough volunteers, who would be willing to move away from Earth.

So, a few of the super-rich were thinking about combining their financial resources to buy the Moon from the governments of the Earth, for a price, which is currently undisclosed. This subject is a matter of intense debate, because many countries in this world could do really well with large sums of money due to the desolate economical situation and hence support the sale. Opponents of this sale, are urging people to be cautious, as a military use in particular, could turn into an uncontrollable danger. Furthermore, there are objections for ethic reasons and it is pointed out that is has already been clearly established in the Outer Space Treaty of the United Nations of 1967, and in the Moon Treaty of 1979, that no one is allowed to acquire ownership rights for the Moon. However, the contractual force is highly disputed, especially in the case of the Moon Treaty, as it has only been signed by a few countries. The advocates of this sale are indicating again that the ownership of land on the Moon, is not less absurd than the ownership of land on Earth, one simply has to get used to the idea.

The billionaires will now present an official application to the United Nations. The discussions that follow and the result should be interesting to see.

Well – there are incredible things, aren’t there?

Google has demonstrated more than once, how to change the world with unconventional ideas. Since 2007, there is a project, which continues this tradition: the »Google Lunar X Prize«.

Google offers prize money in a competition for a total amount of 30 million US dollars (!) to the person or team, being able to privately send a probe to the Moon for fulfilling certain task, i.e.  to have a remote controlled vehicle (Rover) drive 500 metres, or to send pictures back to Earth. Who manages to be the first to land on the Moon and is successful by the end of 2015, will receive the prize.

On the website of the competition www.googlelunarxprize.org you can see 23 active teams, are working more or less intensively (and more or less successfully) to find solutions. We will see, whether the efforts will be crowned with success – it certainly is an exciting idea and we as people are challenged to expand the boundaries of our imagination. And that hasn’t caused anyone any harm yet ;-)

The moonflower is despite its large blossoms (up to 15 cm diameter), more of a modest creature, which grows and blooms in silence, no star on the big stage of floristry. Maybe this is why the comparison to the moon is so fitting.

If taking a closer look, you can find another incredibly interesting aspect: the seeds of ipomoeas contain a substance called ergine that is related to the narcotic LSD and has a hallucinogenic effect. The concentration however, is quite low. Probably, because its beauty is far more intoxicating than the chemical substance …

Meanwhile, we simply enjoy the look of this enchanting flower and hope to encounter it just once in the moonlight.