Consistent with the initial programmatic focus/goals of the GALIX (Global Alliance for International Collaboration in Space) as presented in House Concurrent Resolution 86 during the 2020 Session of the Hawaii State Legislature, the purpose of this white paper is to summarize the GALIX Advisory Team’s vision, rationale, approach and goals for near-term development of a prototype lunar base on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Inaugurated through the Governor George Ariyoshi Foundation and administered by an Advisory Team of leading space professionals from government and industry (a roster of Team members is attached), GALIX was in part established to promote and help integrate space exploration and development activities in Hawaii that could support efforts by NASA and the private sector to return humankind to the Moon. The goal is to leverage Hawaii’s lunar-like terrain and geology, resident expertise and pioneering research in astronomy and planetary geosciences, and strategic mid-Pacific location to promote both public-private partnerships and international alliances that could reduce the costs, enhance the benefits, and accelerate timetables for a sustainable lunar return, which in turn would help expand and diversify Hawaii’s $5 billion space industry and economy.

A major initiative currently under consideration by the Advisory Team is the design and construction of a prototype lunar base on the slope of Mauna Loa Volcano in Hawaii to enable the development, testing and evaluation of space technologies and integrated systems, as well as to train astronauts and other space professionals, to enable future robotic and human missions to the Moon – directly supporting NASA’s Artemis Program, which currently is scheduled to return a human crew to the Moon (and enable sustainable space exploration) by the middle of the decade.

The development of this prototype lunar outpost would promote implementation of diverse aerospace education and public outreach programs that could inspire future generations of space scientists, engineers, and private entrepreneurs, as well as provide multiple research and commercial development opportunities to broadly engage and benefit the global space community. In addition, these efforts would help advance the priority objectives and anticipated outcomes of U.S. “Space Policy Directive 1” to “reinvigorate American’s human space program” through “an innovative and sustainable program of exploration with commercial and international partners to enable human expansion across the solar system … beginning with the return of humans to the Moon for long-term exploration and utilization.”

To help launch this program, GALIX will engage and build upon multiple space-related initiatives ongoing statewide, including pioneering research and development activities currently supported through the Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems (PISCES), the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation Program (HI-SEAS), the University of Hawaii’s Institute for Astronomy and Space Flight Laboratory, the Blue Planet Foundation’s International MoonBase Alliance (IMA), and diverse commercial space enterprise statewide.

In addition to NASA, other governmental agencies – including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) – will also be engaged to leverage their diverse scientific and technical expertise, resources and capabilities to promote the development and implementation of innovative strategies and systems that could enable sustainable space development (while enhancing sustainable living practices on Earth).

Both State administrative support and legislative seed funding ($50,000-$100,000) will be essential for the Advisory Team to help initiate the public-private partnerships and international alliances that ultimately could enable and guide the design, construction and operation of the proposed prototype lunar base in Hawaii. House Concurrent Resolution 86 has been introduced in the 2020 Session of the Hawaii State Legislature to advocate for this funding and administrative support – outlining the State’s strategic space assets and capabilities, as well as diverse educational and training opportunities, that ultimately could help realize Hawaii’s full potential to “advance humankind’s exploration and development of the Moon”.

Building upon Hawaii’s legacy support of NASA’s Apollo Program one half century ago, prototype lunar base goals would include (but not be limited to) facilitating the development, testing and validation of tele-robotic systems, diverse communications networks, cis-lunar positioning and navigation systems, communications networks, and in-situ resource utilization capabilities. But initial program emphasis will be placed on the “design, development, testing and validation of prototype lunar architectures” that ultimately could help “expand and diversify both scientific and commercial ventures on the lunar surface, as well as in cis-lunar space” (in collaboration with and support of NASA’s Artemis Program).