Picture the scenario. We’ve destroyed our own world but instead of dying with it, everyone jumps on an elevator to the moon. Unbelievably, it’s not as far fetched as it sounds. With global warming threatening the Earth’s ecosystems and energy demands far exceeding supplies, society could be on the verge of collapse. But there is a solution. We could build a space elevator and colonise Mars. Or obtain the next generation of fuel from asteroids. This visionary, and ahead-of-its-time documentary, examines how we could save the earth by exploiting the planets.

It’s Monday morning. The sun wakes you and you rush to catch your moon train to the mines and another day of toil. Though the sun shines through the dome’s transparent roof, the stars are clearly visible. It’s the twenty first century and you’re living in an enclosed biosphere on the moon. It might sound like science fiction but is the reality that far away?“Our civilisation runs on energy. As those energy sources become rarer, so it will become more difficult for society to run”, states Dr Martin Hoffert from New York University. Currently, 40% of the world’s population is not connected to any power source. It’s estimated that by 2050, the world will require three times as much energy as it does today.Where will this energy come from? Fossil fuels are running out; solar power is intermittent and the hydrogen cell just isn’t working. Nuclear power also has problems. And, as scientist David Lochbaum points out; “nuclear power has well known safety risks that recently have been complicated by the risk of terrorism”. But there is a way to safely create nuclear energy. All it requires is an atom found on the moon. Nuclear fusion, as opposed to nuclear fission; “can actually release nuclear energy without nuclear waste”, states Dr Gerald Kulcinski from the Nuclear Fusion Institute. These reactions require helium3 atoms, plentiful on the moon. “It would be relatively simple to extract the helium3 from the moon, purify and liquefy it and bring it to the earth”, claims Kulcinski. He believes that “one or two space shuttles a year would provide all the helium3 we need to make all the electricity for the United States”.But if we’re going to the moon anyway, why not bypass the fuel stage completely and directly harness the purest, most efficient source of energy: sunlight? “About 13,000 terawatts of solar power hit the moon”, states Dr David Criswell from the Lunar and Planetary Institute. Power consumption today is 12 terawatts. “We only need to capture a little of that power and send it to earth in usable form”. Others believe we could exploit the minerals in asteroids or generate new industries to prop up our economy through space tourism.The most radical way of saving the Earth might be abandoning it altogether. “Experiments prove you can actually grow your own food in moon soil”, states Dr Alan Binder from Lunar Prospector. “We can create very earth like conditions on the moon, be perfectly protected from the hazards of space and be very comfortable”. Going to the moon would also; “establish a link between our significantly advanced human expertise and the unlimited resources of Space”.So is moving to the moon really a possibility? If President Kennedy had had his way, we would already be there. In the 1960s, he authorised an ambitious project to establish outposts on the moon. Had funding not been diverted to Vietnam, America might have had a functioning lunar colony by 1975. “We’ve had over 40 years of space exploration. It ain’t rocket science anymore”, states Dr Alab Binder. For visionaries like him, the meek may inherit the Earth but the rest of the universe is for the taking.