With a permanently manned lunar base, the UK is ready to deploy civilian and military missions at a moment’s notice.
Moreover, now that our nuclear power industry is benefitting from the highly successful helium-3 mines, the UK is not only completely carbon-neutral, we also have valuable knowledge and experience which we can flog off to any other country that wishes, like us, to ruthlessly exploit every last natural resource to be found in the Solar System.
UK Guide to Space, 2025 Edition
“Alan, have the new recruits found their way to the temporary crew habitat yet?”
“Negative, Commander, they still seem to be unloading an excessive amount of luggage from the transport.”
“Ask them to get a wiggle on, would you Alan? There’s a good lad.”
“You know sometimes, sir, I wish I wasn’t confined to this blasted state of, what’s the word?”
“Dissociation?”
“Quite. Then I’d come right over and give you a good thrashing.”
“Now, now Alan, that’s no way to speak to your commanding officer, is it?”
“Ah. Sir, there’s a certain Officer Beauchamp reporting for duty - she should be arriving any…”
“It’s Science Officer Tiggy Beauchamp, sir!”
“Ah, okay, as you were Science Officer. Welcome to the Moon and all that. Cup of tea?”
“Not when on duty, sir!”
“Good grief officer, calm down will you and stop saluting at me! Look - go and have a sit down won’t you?”
“Right you are sir!”
“Please call me Ian, or Wilder, or Commander, just not sir, okay?”
“Jolly good… Commander!”
“Now then, you must excuse me, I’ve not been, er, you know briefed on the, er, thingies, relating to… you.”
“My orders, Commander?”
“Yes, your orders, that’s it, any ideas?”
“I’m to assist with the training programme for the new recruits, Commander.”
“Of course, the training programme, ha, yes that’s interesting.”
“Do you run it currently, Commander?”
“Well we’ve not had that many new recruits come through the Moon base in recent months. Last year we had the first batch, you know the ones that had to set up the basic infrastructure on Mars. We trained them by getting them to do a bit of work on our infrastructure actually. So that worked out quite nicely. But that first lot, were, you know, high flyer types. Plenty of initiative, that sort of thing. Didn’t really need too much in the way of supervision. Way I like it, truth be told.”
“So what exactly have you been doing for the last six months?”
“What, me? Well, there’s the mining operation, for one thing. All that lovely helium-3.”
“That’s fully robotic though, right?”
“Absolutely. All state of the art. I hardly need to get involved if I’m completely honest, but I hear it’s all going swimmingly well.”
“And the mass driver?”
“The what?”
“You know, the electromagnetic payload accelerator - that sends parcels of supplies off to the Mars Colony?”
“I can see you’ve done your homework, officer. You’d need to talk to Alan, he’s much more up to speed on all that.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll get round to him later. You do realise you have something of a reputation, Commander Wilder?”
“I do? A good one I hope! Something to do with my intrepid lifestyle, living on the edge, one man against the void, that sort of thing?”
“Something like that, yes. They say you’re the only one prepared to stay permanently at the Moon base.”
“Ah. Yes I do like it here. Very peaceful. Apart from all the annoying transports that will keep turning up.”
“Well, I guess I should get set up in my quarters. Then I’ll go check how the recruits are getting on. I’ll… catch you later Wilder.”
“Absolutely - lovely to meet you Science Officer Beauchamp. We must, you know, bump into each other again.”
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