The thing with general scientific research is that there isn’t any immediate utility, but you never know what incredible things will be discovered.
In the case of a research station on the moon, there are opportunities for investigation into how the moon and solar system formed, the history of elements present on the moon. Telescopes can be built that can be larger than space based ones and with better imaging potential than earth based ones due to the lack of atmosphere. We can learn how to live far away from earth and improve in-situ resource utilization capabilities, such as water and rocket fuel synthesis and how to grow food. More longer term, as yet untested ground to orbit concepts can be tested more easily than on earth, like space elevators, launch loops, and orbital rings.
The thing with general scientific research is that there isn’t any immediate utility, but you never know what incredible things will be discovered.
In the case of a research station on the moon, there are opportunities for investigation into how the moon and solar system formed, the history of elements present on the moon. Telescopes can be built that can be larger than space based ones and with better imaging potential than earth based ones due to the lack of atmosphere. We can learn how to live far away from earth and improve in-situ resource utilization capabilities, such as water and rocket fuel synthesis and how to grow food. More longer term, as yet untested ground to orbit concepts can be tested more easily than on earth, like space elevators, launch loops, and orbital rings.