Lunch from the lunar dirt (Photo courtesy of Dr. Jeff Taylor, Univ. Hawaii) We often hear the Moon described as a lifeless desert, a barren rock in space where nothing can survive. Although the Moon is certainly different from the Earth, it is hardly barren. From the 1970’s through the 1990’s (largely before we knew about the presence of water and other volatiles in the lunar polar regions) the late, lunar scientist Dr. Larry Haskin set forth some basic facts about the chemical composition of the Moon. Larry was a chemist by training and his view was that the Moon has all that we need – just [...]