Cities won’t survive on the moon as there isn’t enough water, scientists say

If, like Elon Musk, you have been dreaming of a future in which large populations of humans can live on the moon, you’re likely to be disappointed. Even though there could be trillions of pounds of water trapped inside tiny glass beads spread across the lunar surface, scientists estimate that this won’t be enough to sustain a big city for very long, according to a study published Monday in the journal Frontiers in Space Technologies. Musk announced in February that his aerospace company, SpaceX, had shifted its focus from developing a settlement on Mars to “building a self-growing city on the Moon,” because it would be quicker to achieve, potentially “in less than 10 years.” That raised the question, “Well, how big a city could you support on the moon with that water supply?