Part 1 of the series discussed that People need to be ferried between Earth and LEO.

This series looks at the 6 key things needed to achieve such a mission.

The 6 Key Needs for Continuous Moon Mission

What does an ongoing Moon mission need?

1. People need to be ferried between Earth and LEO
2. People need to be ferried between LEO and Low Lunar Orbit (LLO)
3. People need to shuttle between LLO and Moon's surface
4. There needs to be a transfer point in LLO
5. Supplies and equipment need to be ferried to the Moon surface from Earth
6. A Moonbase on the surface needs to be established and continuously expanded (at least for a number of years)

This post looks at need 2.

2. People need to be ferried between LEO and Low Lunar Orbit (LLO)

In the early period of the continuous mission, people will travel regularly to the Moon and back.

One of the two HLS Starships from the early mission can be used for this purpose. It will not land on Earth, but people will be ferried to it by Dragon capsules and later passenger Starships.

Initial life support on HLS is for a small number of people, which is fine for early missions. Until the number of people per trip increases (which could happen quickly), the initial life support design for the HLS Starship will be sufficient for the trip from LEO to LLO and back.

Refurbishment of items like carbon filters, food, etc., can be resupplied from the Dragon capsule when bringing new crew. Special cargo loads could be sent to the ship if needed before it departs LEO.

With SpaceX's increased ship production capacity, it is expected that the first LEO to LLO shuttle will be replaced in a short time.

The next-gen ship will likely be a very similar design to the first but with increased life support capacity. Later, a full-blown shuttle version will be developed.

The estimated capacity of a passenger-only Starship is up to 100 people. Once this version comes online, it can take over shuttle duties.

Just because a ship can take 100 people on a return trip does not mean that many people will always travel, just that it opens up many possibilities.

For the long trip to Mars, there is debate about 100 people being too many. However, for the shorter trips to the Moon, having a higher number of passengers is reasonable.

Maybe tourist could just do the return trip for fun?

Next . . .

Part 3 The Continuous Moon Mission looks at key need 3, People need to shuttle between LLO and Moon's surface