The New Moon on the horizon

Terraforming the Moon is a theoretical possibility for a very distant future. Making our icy neighbor planet Mars habitable, or even transforming that red-hot other neighbor, Venus, is a piece of cake compared to terraforming our satellite. A total lack of water and other resources and a gravity that can barely hold an atmosphere are just some of the problems that need to be solved.

Still, it's a nice thought experiment, this terraforming of the Moon. Although it is quite a job, it does yield something: a small but fascinating world with seas, crater lakes, forests and polar caps. A surfer's paradise with very high waves, due to that low gravity and the pull of the Earth. And with trees that seem to touch the sky.

But even on Earth, the Moon's makeover would not go unnoticed. The silver-gray sphere we know will be a touch larger, five times brighter and much more colorful. Sailing in the moonlight will never be the same again.