My vision was seconded by the editor of the NASA-published monograph of that symposium, who wrote:
The first humans to live and work on the moon will be supported by an advanced technology. Yet the basic incompatibility of human physiology with the environment will limit flexibility of response to challenges of everyday existence. Our tools will be very sophisticated, but our actual resources will be limited initially. In many ways, the development of a lunar economic and social infrastructure will require the kind of adaptability and innovation seen in successful enterprises in the Third World. For this reason, Khalili's perspective on lunar architecture provides an interesting and thought-provoking contrast to "orthodox" scenarios.
An hour after that presentation, I was invited to Los Alamos National Laboratory as a scientist (they had no category for architect) to present my ideas and interact with the scientists for several days, which I did in 1985.
Thangavelu: The idea that we will use extremely advanced space technologies to arrive at the moon and then immediately resort to indigenous materials and age-old ways of building up infrastructure is both fascinating and humbling. What are your thoughts on space exploration and the lessons and impact of this activity on humanity?
Khalili: My thoughts are best expressed in my original paper, in which I wrote:
All heavenly bodies are like human bodies: marvels of creation in the highest forms of technology, yet filled with poetry and spirituality. Everything we need to build is in us, and in the place. We must sail into the cosmos no only with zero-defect spaceships, but in ones filled with inspiration, not merely carrying a databank, but also carrying a sense of unity integrating us with our past and future aspirations. It is good to remember that what we may ultimately reach in space may be the space within.
Thangavelu: What was the tangible result of these presentations and research?
Khalili: Subsequent to my visit to Los Alamos, at a presentation in a Princeton Space Studies Institute/NASA symposium, I was invited by McDonnell Douglas Space Systems to become part of a research team. They offered me the use
