Visit the Moon Temple: Artist Jorge Mañes Rubio's Lunar Vision in Images

Moon Temple and Earth

Jorge Mañes Rubio/DITISHOE

European Space Agency (ESA) artist-in-residence Jorge Mañes Rubio has drawn up plans for a "moon temple" that would help meet the social, spiritual and psychological needs of lunar settlers. See how his vision looks in this gallery.

This image: Shackleton Crater, with Rubio's moon temple visible as a small bright dot on the left of the image.

Jorge Mañes Rubio

Bret Hartman

European Space Agency artist-in-residence Jorge Mañes Rubio.

Aerial View of Shackleton Crater

Jorge Mañes Rubio/DITISHOE

View from above of the moon's 13-mile-wide (21 kilometers) wide, 2.6-mile-deep (4.2 km) Shackleton Crater.

Shackleton Crater and Moon Temple

Jorge Mañes Rubio/DITISHOE

Aerial view of the moon temple and its proposed location on the rim of Shackleton Crater at the lunar south pole.

Moon Temple: Ramp and Main Entrance

Jorge Mañes Rubio/DITISHOE

The moon temple and its main entrance through the front stairs and ramp.

Entrance to Moon Temple

orge Mañes Rubio/DITISHOE

View of the moon temple and its main entrance.

Moon Temple Ramp

Jorge Mañes Rubio/DITISHOE

The ramp connecting the moon temple with the perpetual darkness of the interior of Shackleton Crater.

View of Earth

Jorge Mañes Rubio/DITISHOE

View of Earth from inside the moon temple. (Earth is upside-down because the moon temple would be located at the lunar south pole.)

Moon Temple Interior

Jorge Mañes Rubio/DITISHOE

View from inside the moon temple. A liquid-mirror telescope gazes through the main 33-foot-wide (10 meters) central oculus. On the left, a secondary oculus enables views of Earth. (Earth rises and stays on the horizon for about 14 Earth days, setting and remaining hidden below the horizon for another 14 Earth days.) The temple has a communal forum with several levels to be used for cultural and ritual activities. Three horizontal cuts in the upper part of the dome allow natural light in.

Lunar Liquid-Mirror Telescope

Jorge Mañes Rubio/DITISHOE

View of the moon temple’s liquid-mirror telescope.

Sun on the Horizon

Jorge Mañes Rubio/DITISHOE

The moon temple in long shadow.

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Mike Wall
Senior Space Writer

Michael Wall is a Senior Space Writer with Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military space, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, "Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.