Human Adaptation in Extreme Conditions: Anthropology and Ergonomics Applied to Outer Space.

“A planet created for humans” is the mental image that Man has of Earth, but what would be the mental image if in a distant future Man were to inhabit the Moon? A good riddle for Alice, and a challenge for anthropologists, biologists, physicians, and space engineers. Besides, why should we not populate the Moon? The Moon is probably a piece of Earth, or at least is of a similar nature , it stays in the same place in the Solar System since both globes have a common center of gravity within the Earth’s surface. Nevertheless, it seems to be wholly unwelcoming and hostile. Probably because we are not adapted to live there! Travelling beyond the Earth's atmosphere is a relatively new feat for mankind; however, the relationship between humans and other planets has a much longer history. While a student, Johannes Kepler devoted one of his dissertations to the question: “How would phenomena occurring in heaven appear to an observer on the Moon?” The thesis submitted by Kepler at the Tübingen University, in 1593, contained some of the major questions regarding Man’s exploitation of Moon and Space. Questions we shall attempt to answer in the optics of Anthropology and Ergonomics.