 The day when you or I can book a holiday in space is not so far away. Although the focus seems to be on travelling to Mars, this is the place we are most likely to visit, the Moon. Space agencies around the world already have advanced plans for a permanent human colony on the Moon. Even NASA's ambition to send men to Mars includes a Moon base as a vital staging post on the way to the Red Planet. So, if you happen to be one of the first to arrive, what will the Moon base look like? Who will live there? What will its purpose be? One man who reckons he knows is Bob Goddard, who's written a book all about it. But, before I tell you about that, let's look at who is going to the Moon. The European Space Agency has drawn up detailed plans for a Moon village, a place where an international colony can live and work, utilizing the Moon's own resources. They say the lunar poles have ample water preserved as ice in the unlit craters, while the nearby peaks are bathed in almost permanent sunshine. If you break down water, you create oxygen and hydrogen, the raw ingredients for breathable air and rocking fuel. With plentiful solar power, a self-sustaining base is perfectly possible. All the minerals and metals needed can be found in the lunar soil. A permanent colony would provide a manufacturing and refuelling base for onward exploration of the cosmos. According to the ESA, this Moon village will be a unique scientific and astronomical outpost, a place where we can learn vital lessons before we venture further out into space. But it's not just the Europeans who have plans for a Moon base. The Russians have recently announced the development of an ultra-heavy rocket to transport supplies to the Moon, because they also want to build a base. The Russian start date is 2025. Assuming the Chinese don't get there first, they too have advanced plans to orbit the Moon, land people on it and create a Moon colony. China landed a rover in 2013, the first Moon landing in almost four decades. And not to be outdone, India also has ambitious plans. Their next Moon mission, Chandrayaan 2, is scheduled to launch by 2018 and will include an orbiter, a lander and a rover, which will traverse the lunar surface to pick up soil and rocks for analysis. Meanwhile, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is developing autonomous construction robots to help build habitats on the Moon. And what about America, the only nation to have put a man on the Moon? NASA's resource prospector aims to be the world's first robotic miner when it's launched to the lunar polar region in the 2020s. Or could there be bigger plans? Newt Gingrich, one of President Trump's closest advisors, has argued for years that the US should set up a permanent manned base on the Moon. He says NASA should work with private companies to keep the costs down and many believe the new administration will add a manned mission to the lunar surface as a step towards that Mars mission. So, what will a Moon base look like? Author and space enthusiast Bob Goddard has spent 11 years researching and writing his book, Another Moon, which gives us a very clear idea. Goddard takes us to his fictional Armstrong base. Here, at Malibu Mountain near the Moon's South Pole, nearly 300 scientists and engineers, plus a handful of wealthy tourists make up the first permanent off-planet colony. Not much is visible on the surface because most of the accommodation is buried under lunar regolith for protection. Hidden within the mountain are tunnels and caverns containing the colony's manufacturing facility. The mountain top is ringed with solar panels providing power for the base and lighting up the biosphere where some of the colony's food is grown. At Armstrong base, no one stays longer than three years in the weak lunar gravity. Replacements come with every monthly supply ship. A competition for a place on the Moon is intense with almost every country represented. Everyone wants this experience of a lifetime, but no one is ready for the shattering events that unfold in February 2087. When a comet changes course at the heads of the Earth, the entire planet is thrown into chaos. On the Moon, the colonists face the bleak prospect of being stranded forever. An American engineer and Russian cosmonauts become unlikely allies in the colonists' struggle for survival. Can they make Armstrong base self-sufficient before the food runs out? Will they ever see their families again? Why not book your passage now for an out-of-world experience by getting your copy of Mother Moon? I guess you're about the only person around that doesn't have TV coverage of the scene. That's all right. I don't mind it, man. You've got the flag up now. You can see the side. I'm going to take it up now. Are you getting a TV picture now, Hampton? Neil, yes, we are getting a TV picture. You're going to have to look in now. That's one small step for man.