<p>Being struck by a piece of rock that is pebble sized or bigger could do damage to any base. Fortunately such objects are rare. Their danger could not be entirely avoided, but would be just part of the overall risk of such a mission. </p>

<p>Micrometeorites would hit any exposed base, just as they have hit the <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/10/111006-meteor-shower-meteors-draconids-nasa-storm-moon-space-science/" rel="nofollow">ISS</a>  and the <a href="http://rebrn.com/re/how-is-the-iss-not-taking-damage-from-the-perseid-meteor-shower-514972/" rel="nofollow">space shuttle</a> in the past. The base would be make strong enough to survive very small impacts. The base could be built partially underground, which would also reduce cosmic radiation. And in would be possible to isolate parts of the base, so a breach doesn't cause destruction of the entire base.</p>

<p>Finally, astronauts have to accept dangers that most people would find intolerable. The ISS was estimated to have a 5% chance of catastrophic failure over its lifespan. 4% of astronauts have died in a spacecraft. Breach due to micrometeorite impact would be one of the many risks.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-04-25T06:13:23.540Z
I was certain it couldn't be that high until I thought about it a bit (more than I'd like to). I've asked a follow-up question in [space.stackexchange](http://space.stackexchange.com/q/14985/12102).
uhoh
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-11-14T18:22:10.957Z
"4% of astronauts have died in a spacecraft" unreal!
Fattie
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-04-24T07:37:55.607Z
2016-04-24T07:37:55.607Z
James K
<p>I've been reading an article today on how the European Space Agency (ESA) has an interest in building a space village on the moon which will be 3D printed and assembled by robots. Eventually people will start to go there for long periods of time (presumably).</p>

<p>I always think to myself when hearing such news or watching a sci-fi movie, isn't there a real chance that it will get hit by a meteorite?</p>

<p>Resource:
<a href="http://www.iflscience.com/space/esa-build-moon-village-2030" rel="nofollow">http://www.iflscience.com/space/esa-build-moon-village-2030</a></p>

<p><strong>UPDATE</strong></p>

<p>Here's a video of their plan to build a moon village as they call it:
<a href="http://www.iflscience.com/space/esa-reveal-their-plans-build-moon-village-20-years-time" rel="nofollow">http://www.iflscience.com/space/esa-reveal-their-plans-build-moon-village-20-years-time</a></p>

<p><strong>UPDATE #2</strong></p>

<p>Something interesting to see :) <a href="http://www.iflscience.com/space/space-debris-has-chipped-one-isss-windows" rel="nofollow">http://www.iflscience.com/space/space-debris-has-chipped-one-isss-windows</a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-05T07:35:57.810Z
[A similar question](http://space.stackexchange.com/questions/1663/have-any-missions-suffered-damage-from-meteorites-whilst-on-the-lunar-surface) says *"800 impacts per square centimeter per year for impacts greater than 1 um"*. I don't think they do any damage even to a space suit. Over a few tens of millions of years, micrometeorites erode 1 cm of the lunar surface into regolith, that's why boulders are rare on the Moon. Debris in LEO is more frequent and dangerous, still no serious accidents. (BTW, "Meteor" is the light phenomenon of a meteorite burning in the atmosphere, N/A on the Moon).
LocalFluff
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-06T06:02:55.277Z
I've searched if someone has asked the same question before and I couldn't find it.. Thanks for your clarifications @LocalFluff
Odin
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-08T12:29:50.393Z
The answer is "yes". But how big the risks are is a different question. This might be of interest: http://www.space.com/24789-moon-meteorite-impact-brightest-lunar-explosion.html
adrianmcmenamin
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-08T12:38:48.260Z
"Since 2005, NASA's moon impact-monitoring program has observed more than 300 meteorite strikes on the lunar surface." and the article was written in 2014.. So like 33 meteorite in 1 year.. I guess that's not as bad as Ι thought considering the size of the moon haha. Thank you for your answer! @adrianmcmenamin
Odin
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-08T22:55:13.600Z
@Odin They're only going to observe them above a certain size.   While space is largely empty, not having an atmosphere would increase the chance of impact from a small meteor, A meteor that burns up in the Earth's atmosphere would hit the Moon's surface.   The numbers are still quite small but much larger than 33 in 1 year.   http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/about-us/75-our-solar-system/comets-meteors-and-asteroids/meteorites/313-how-many-meteorites-hit-earth-each-year-intermediate
userLTK
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-09T07:48:15.350Z
So I guess there isn’t any “real” chance since ESA will take the risk with work of decades to build the base and billions of dollars @userLTK
Odin
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-10T02:53:41.187Z
@Odin  I'm not smart enough to say with any specifics but I'd say the chances of being hit by a meteor is lower on the surface of the moon than on the space station (gravitational attraction of the earth raising the velocity and perhaps chance of impact a little too).    Obviously the space station is still working, so the impacts are either mostly small or quite infrequent.
userLTK
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-12T06:34:49.097Z
That's a good comment.. I would thumb you up if I had the privileges.. Thank you @userLTK
Odin
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-12T22:19:05.153Z
Wouldn't a moon base basically be sub-surface to avoid harmful solar and cosmic radiation?  That might protect against all but the most significant lunar impacts.
dudemonkey
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-13T20:15:50.480Z
I would think that a 1 micron micrometeoroid going, say, 25,000 mph would create a shower of high speed particles as it passes through the space suit and the body and cause significant damage.
eshaya
<the-moon><space><meteor><esa>
Is there any real chance of getting hit with a meteorite if we build a base on the moon?
Odin
# Is there any real chance of getting hit with a meteorite if we build a base on the moon?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-01-05)

I've been reading an article today on how the European Space Agency (ESA) has an interest in building a space village on the moon which will be 3D printed and assembled by robots. Eventually people will start to go there for long periods of time (presumably).

I always think to myself when hearing such news or watching a sci-fi movie, isn't there a real chance that it will get hit by a meteorite?

Resource:
<http://www.iflscience.com/space/esa-build-moon-village-2030>

**UPDATE**

Here's a video of their plan to build a moon village as they call it:
<http://www.iflscience.com/space/esa-reveal-their-plans-build-moon-village-20-years-time>

**UPDATE #2**

Something interesting to see :) <http://www.iflscience.com/space/space-debris-has-chipped-one-isss-windows>

**Tags:** the-moon, space, meteor, esa
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: [A similar question](http://space.stackexchange.com/questions/1663/have-any-missions-suffered-damage-from-meteorites-whilst-on-the-lunar-surface) says *"800 impacts per square centimeter per year for impacts greater than 1 um"*. I don't think they do any damage even to a space suit. Over a few tens of millions of years, micrometeorites erode 1 cm of the lunar surface into regolith, that's why boulders are rare on the Moon. Debris in LEO is more frequent and dangerous, still no serious accidents. (BTW, "Meteor" is the light phenomenon of a meteorite burning in the atmosphere, N/A on the Moon).  
> **username_0**: I've searched if someone has asked the same question before and I couldn't find it.. Thanks for your clarifications @LocalFluff  
> **username_2**: The answer is "yes". But how big the risks are is a different question. This might be of interest: http://www.space.com/24789-moon-meteorite-impact-brightest-lunar-explosion.html  
> **username_0**: "Since 2005, NASA's moon impact-monitoring program has observed more than 300 meteorite strikes on the lunar surface." and the article was written in 2014.. So like 33 meteorite in 1 year.. I guess that's not as bad as Ι thought considering the size of the moon haha. Thank you for your answer! @adrianmcmenamin  
> **username_3**: @Odin They're only going to observe them above a certain size.   While space is largely empty, not having an atmosphere would increase the chance of impact from a small meteor, A meteor that burns up in the Earth's atmosphere would hit the Moon's surface.   The numbers are still quite small but much larger than 33 in 1 year.   http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/about-us/75-our-solar-system/comets-meteors-and-asteroids/meteorites/313-how-many-meteorites-hit-earth-each-year-intermediate  
> **username_0**: So I guess there isn’t any “real” chance since ESA will take the risk with work of decades to build the base and billions of dollars @userLTK  
> **username_3**: @Odin  I'm not smart enough to say with any specifics but I'd say the chances of being hit by a meteor is lower on the surface of the moon than on the space station (gravitational attraction of the earth raising the velocity and perhaps chance of impact a little too).    Obviously the space station is still working, so the impacts are either mostly small or quite infrequent.  
> **username_0**: That's a good comment.. I would thumb you up if I had the privileges.. Thank you @userLTK  
> **username_4**: Wouldn't a moon base basically be sub-surface to avoid harmful solar and cosmic radiation?  That might protect against all but the most significant lunar impacts.  
> **username_5**: I would think that a 1 micron micrometeoroid going, say, 25,000 mph would create a shower of high speed particles as it passes through the space suit and the body and cause significant damage.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_6 on 2016-04-24. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

Being struck by a piece of rock that is pebble sized or bigger could do damage to any base. Fortunately such objects are rare. Their danger could not be entirely avoided, but would be just part of the overall risk of such a mission.

Micrometeorites would hit any exposed base, just as they have hit the [ISS](http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/10/111006-meteor-shower-meteors-draconids-nasa-storm-moon-space-science/) and the [space shuttle](http://rebrn.com/re/how-is-the-iss-not-taking-damage-from-the-perseid-meteor-shower-514972/) in the past. The base would be make strong enough to survive very small impacts. The base could be built partially underground, which would also reduce cosmic radiation. And in would be possible to isolate parts of the base, so a breach doesn't cause destruction of the entire base.

Finally, astronauts have to accept dangers that most people would find intolerable. The ISS was estimated to have a 5% chance of catastrophic failure over its lifespan. 4% of astronauts have died in a spacecraft. Breach due to micrometeorite impact would be one of the many risks.

> **Comments:**
> **username_7**: I was certain it couldn't be that high until I thought about it a bit (more than I'd like to). I've asked a follow-up question in [space.stackexchange](http://space.stackexchange.com/q/14985/12102).  
> **username_8**: "4% of astronauts have died in a spacecraft" unreal!  

---

