Words
Exports
As a tourist, you will be busy with all of your amazing lunar activities! You won’t have time to take in the industrial/business side. Most of the corporate sites are proprietary and therefore restricted. Separate travel arrangements will need to be made through the granting company.
This is short introduction to give you an understanding of how the lunar colony works and explain some of the things you might see out of the portholes when you take your tour of the surface. Ask your travel expediter for information and tickets for Lasso The Moon’s popular Tailored Surface Tour.
Mining
The main export from the moon to earth is raw materials from mining, both lunar and asteroid. The moon is used as a base for ship building, repair, and resupply.
Moon Rocks
And of course lunar souvenirs. Ever since the first space ship touched down on the lunar surface, we have been bringing back moon rocks. Naturally you can trust the Smithsonian moon rock but beware of initiations! Studies show that 90% of “moon” rocks come from the nearest gravel quarry. Unfortunately moon rocks and earth rocks can only be told apart with expensive testing. Don’t get taken in. Trust Lasso The Moon souvenirs when shopping for your moon memories.
Entertainment
Permanent lunar residents try to be as self-sufficient as possible. Earth luxuries are not deemed to be worth the price of oversight from people who don’t even live on the same astronomical body! Some items still need to be imported, mainly machinery and tech supplies. So, earth currency needs to be earned.
One major source of gravity well currency is digital entertainment: writing, drawing, digital painting, specialized hand lettering, video games, creative coding, and so on. Anything that can be produced by rearranging electrons! No raw material required. No transport costs. The only costs are time, computer usage, and electricity. The last is in abundant supply from truly amazing amounts of solar power.
One of the most popular exports is a the well-known comic strip Moon Rats. What you may not know is that the name started as a slander against the permanent residents. As with other groups before them, Moon Rats took the insult and made it their own. First as the title of their famous comic. Then as a collective noun for themselves. Leaning into the skid, as it were. Lasso The Moon does not condone derogatory treatment of individuals based on their place of residence.
The Ghost of Airlock H is a Moon Rats story about an airlock that does not open if there is a problem with the EVA equipment. Is is haunted? Is it an urban myth? You’ll have to read the comic to find out! Selene Publishing titles are available through Lasso The Moon as well as other text retailers.
In case you are wondering who wrote or drew these stories, we don’t know! Moon Rats live within a collective framework. Individual authorship is neither credited nor appreciated. You will often hear them use the phrase, ‘We live here.’ Attributing authorship to a group is an example of the WE part of that belief.
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Editorial note. A graphic novel with a comic strip as a play-within-a-play. From someone who can’t draw. That sounds all kinds of feasible.
Editorial note II. At first I thought Moonrats would be one word, after the Naked version. Now, I’m thinking two words works better, particularly if it first arose as a slur. Also, turns out that the phrase “Mole Rats” in Naked Mole Rats is either hyphenated or separate words. Dunno what I was channeling. Two words it is. Smithsonian: Naked Mole-rat cam
Editorial note III. I’m guessing about moon rocks being hard to distinguish from earth rocks. Sounds reasonable. Preliminary surfing appears to confirm. Would need to check more.
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