Attractions & Entertainment

Popular things to See and Do during your visit to Seleneca

No matter what your interests are, there is something here for you that offers intrigue, wonder, and delight. We realize that simply being in Seleneca, located on the Moon, is in itself a wonder and joy. Below are a few things that Seleneca can offer that you might not find elsewhere on the Moon. These are enjoyed by visitors and residents alike.

Top of the Dome Lookout

Climb to the top of the central dome, 117 meters (383 feet) above the Dome’s floor, and get a 360º view from the highest part of Seleneca. From there you can see the Frigoris Space Port to the south, the highlands that surround us on the east and west, plus the 825-meter (2700-foot) high rim of Timeaus Crater to the north. The freighters are in clear view entering or exiting and loading or unloading at both the East Harbor and the West Harbor. There is no elevator, stairs only. It is open weekdays and on special holidays. Closed on the days when the sun is low to avoid solar radiation exposure. The entrance is at the Muni, from the North Street rear entrance.

Central Park

Central Park is within a domed structure, central to the plan of the city. The shell of the dome is solid, filled with more than 4 meters of lunar regolith acting as a radiation shield. The Dome sits upon a cylindrical “drum” of concrete and titanium that measures 210 meters (689 ft) in diameter and 33 meters (108.26 ft) high. The base is surrounded by up to 9-story buildings that face toward the central space. At its apex, the Dome measures 73 meters (239.5 ft) high from its base, putting its apex at 106 meters (347.77 ft) high above the ground in the center of Central Park.

In contrast to the ceilings painted blue in the streets, the ceiling above central park is black, like the sky above Seleneca. The ceiling has a system of display screens that sometimes show a live feed from cameras outside of the dome, visual light displays, and portions can display important public announcements.

In addition to city offices, the municipal buildings provide cultural event space. Terraces at multiple levels, publicly accessible most of the time, offer views of the large, enclosed space from different vantage points. It is possible to climb the towers to get an even higher view, and you can also climb to the top of the dome for a breathtaking view of the lunar landscape beyond the city from the viewing cupola. The buildings surrounding Central Park house offices and hotels in the upper floors with ground floor uses catering to the businesses, tourists, and park visitors. Notice that on top of the offices of the Seleneca Company (pink building), stands a giant gold statue of the City’s patron, the goddess Selene.

While there, be sure to:

climb at least one of the two municipal towers in front of the Municipal Complex.
Visit one or more of the restaurants.
See the Monolith, and try to see anything inside it..
Admire the gold statue of Selene on top of the Seleneca Company’s building.
Watch the strange waves of the Koi Pond

The Grand Star Bazaar

Shop the winding passageways of the Grand Star Bazaar. Patterned after the charm of Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, our lunar version has things that you can not buy anywhere else in our Solar System. The path of the Bazaar is in the shape of a star, and completely surrounds the central dome, as a kind-of back street for Central Park. Its narrow passageways contrast the expansive open space found in Central Park. Almost every radiating street in Seleneca leads you to the Grand Star Bazaar to one of its many openings. See what fascinating things await you as you pass each corner.

The 1100 Block of the Grand Star Bazaar is to the left in this view down North Street. This view is looking north from just outside the Muni. North Street is one of the four Cardinal Streets. Each one points from the Central Park towards the 4 cardinal directions. The Cardinal Streets are 40 meters wide, building face to building face, 4o meters tall to the tops of the building facades, and then the barrel ceiling goes up another 20 meters at the center of the street. 60 meters in height is equivalent to 197 feet. In contrast, most streets are 10 meters wide with one row of trees down the center, and a few, like the Grand Star Bazaar, are streets 6 meters in width. All of the streets have that classic 1:1 ratio of street width to building height.

Municipal Swimming Pool

Want to swim on the Moon? You can only do this in a few places and Seleneca has its own Olympic size swimming pool, measuring 25 meters by 50 meters, with 10 full-sized lanes. Swimming in the Moon’s low gravity is one of the few things that almost feels normal, in comparison to swimming on Earth. That is because buoyancy is caused by displacement, and the resistance of swimming in the water is about the same. Swimming underwater feels the same. Swimming on the surface is the same except that wave action is greater. The peaks and valleys of the waves are more exaggerated in the vertical direction because of the lower gravitational force. Expect a little bit of a learning curve to know when to breath while speed swimming. Some other things to expect:

The depth of the pool is deeper than what is normal on Earth for two reasons: to reduce surface wave heights, and the reduce the ability for someone to push off the bottom and land outside of the pool. This is a cool thing when you land on your feet, but not everyone does. An additional risk is that they can land on and hurt other people walking by or sitting at the edge.
The edges of the pool are higher, because it is easy to make vary big waves. The top step is 1.3 meters above the main surface of the water, so that if waves splash up the water can drain back into the pool more easily.
Similar to tall waves, normal splashing of water can cause water to go up higher and farther beyond the perimeter of the pool. And the water moves slower as it falls to the ground and it drains slower back into the pool than it does on Earth.

Changing stalls surround the walls of the Pool Room on the 2^nd and 3^rd floors. Check in at the front desk to acquire a key. The facility also has classrooms and meeting rooms used for various community groups and programs, that may or may not be directly associated with swimming or aquatic exercise. <br>

The facility is located at the Southwest Ward Center located between Roosa Street and Scott Street. The entrance is outward of Bradbury Ring.

Lunar Agricultural Tours

The Office of Food Production offers tours of Seleneca’s farms each day at 9 am. These are free of charge, however reservations must be made by no later than 5 pm the day before. The farms grow food using numerous methods. Above you can see one of the very rare open fields dedicated for row crops.

Most of the plants are grown using hydroponic methods. The water delivery systems vary considerably and are custom designed for the efficient use of space for each type of plant. Soil is used in some instances, normally in limited ways. Our soil is locally manufactured, within the Office of Food Production’s control. We start with the spoils of regolith mining after the metals and hydrogen have been removed. It is ground further inside tumblers to remove its microscopic sharp edges that can cause lung damage and then organics from plant and animal/human waste, processed separately, are added to the mix.

Seleneca’s Office of Food Production has a well-equipped Aquaculture division that raises fish, shrimp, mollusks, and limited aquatic plants such as seaweed, and algae, each requiring different facilities. Shown above are the larger fish tanks, arranged on two levels, located at the 8 O’clock Farm.

Open water behaves differently on the lunar surface than it does on earth. The waves are much higher because of the lower gravitational force. Water splashes higher and farther. For fish, and humans too, swimming underwater is about the same as on Earth, because the inertia of the water is causing drag, not the gravity. A submerged swimmer’s speed would be about the same in both places. Similarly, floating on water is about the same, because that has to do with the displacement caused by the floating body’s density compared to the water’s density. However, the lower gravity makes it possible for fish, and humans, to be able to jump out of the water into the air much easier. Depending on the species, additional guards are placed on the edges of the tanks so that the fish basically bounce back into the water if they jump too far. Alternatively, the water level is lower. Some of our fish have been genetically modified to have weaker mussels to limit their jumping, but some people think that affects the taste of the meat.

The Underbelly Tour

See Seleneca’s underbelly. Tour includes visiting the utility corridors under our city streets, visiting one of the domestic farms located in the cellar of one of our buildings, and when possible, the water and sewer works under the Central Park. Offered daily from the Municipal Building, side entrance on North Street. Scheduled time is daily at 9 am. Reservations required by 5 pm the day before.

Outside Excursions

There are many venues for adventures out beyond Seleneca. A few include:

Seleneca Passenger Express, offers tours of various distances to the highlands beyond Seleneca, that leave East Harbor at departure times throughout the day. Depending on light and location, the tours change often. All tours return no later than 7 pm. Tours are normally offered only during the 14 days of daylight each month. The exception is during a “full earth,” equivalent to the “new moon” as seen from Earth, that offers enough earthlight to cast a mysterious pale blue glow on the lunar landscape.
Plato Crater Research Center built into the northern rim of that crater, named after the ancient Greek philosopher, offers accommodations during times when there are fewer researchers at the facility. They will arrange travel for the 300-km (187-mile) trip. The Plato Crater has a diameter of 101 kilometers (63 miles) with a relatively smooth floor 1.5 to 2 km below the rim. The jagged peaks along the rim create amazing shadows. The view is breathtaking. Normally the transport stops along the way for you to see enormous lava tubes in the middle of Mare Frigoris. If your budget can accommodate faster transport, the center has its own blast pad. The company, Blasthopper, offers service out of the Frigoris Spaceport.
Northern Ice Crater tour. This tour is run by the Lunar Water Company. View are spectacular as you go further north from Seleneca. Each tour is limited in number, as the passengers spend at least one night in the cargo vehicle. This is a “ride along” tour, where the guests accompany the crew on the road for the company’s pickups and deliveries. No manual labor is required of the guests. Advance reservations required.
The Apollo Lunar Module Experience. Ready to suit up and crawl into a replica of the Apollo 11 Lunar lander, just like Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin? Thankfully, the environmental suits have been updated since the 1960s. For an extra fee you can drive a replica of the lunar rover used in the later Apollo missions. Tours depart from the Frigoris Space Port Welcome Lobby.
For more, see any of the tourist information offices and kiosks near the ports and at Central Park.