ACHIEVING SELF-RELIANCE
- how an off-Earth base could quickly become self-sufficient -

Information: Dr. Doug Plata explains how the Initial Crew would have the protocols necessary to maintain and expand their base and protocols for achieving good-enough replacement parts. He also explains how the future Colony would have curated information taken from the Internet.

INFO TO FIRST ACHIEVE EARTH INDEPENDENCE
In order to first achieve Earth independence, there are a finite set of protocols that the Initial Crew would need to implement in order to produce all of the things that they will need to maintain their little colony and to grow it as their own population grows. We propose that these protocols be developed here on Earth and also implemented in an analogue base to refine the protocols. When the Initial Crew first arrives at the lunar base, they could begin to implement those protocols in that lunar environment. Undoubtedly there will be some difference between the analogue setting and the real setting on the Moon. Hence the protocols would be adjusted based upon lessons learned at the lunar base.

THE INTERNET
As things progress beyond the point where complete Earth independence is first achieved, additional protocols could be developed by people on Earth and then transmitted to the growing settlement. Likewise, the settlers could have Internet access. But one purpose of a "Survival Colony" would be to continue to survive and grow in the event that contact (including Internet access) from Earth was lost.

We propose that the colony have well-selected, easily searchable information physically located in the colony. Current thinking is that a website could be developed whereby anyone on Earth could propose links to websites which contain information which a growing settlement may one day need/wish to know. Then, that information could be stored in a durable format (e.g. CDs, microfiche, ???) and shipped to the colony on the Moon. Certainly, microfiche could be easily viewed using equipment producible on the Moon. We believe that CD-reading technology could also be produced from local resources.