communications on the moon?

Question

How can people communicate on the moon if sound can't travel? Are there any ways other than radio waves?

Answer 1

Once there's a permanent "moon camp" (assuming it's pressurized like the space station), then of course people inside the camp could speak normally.

From suit to suit while walking and/or working outside on the moon, radio waves would be the best choice because they work in a vacuum.

Other ways to communicate would be with lasers -- it's possible to encode digital (or analog) messages into communications lasers and use them to send messages from one spot to another. However, the risk here is that they would need to have a clear, open line of sight between the two spots, and the spots would have to stay in the same places.

So for example, it's feasible for two moon camps to communicate via a laser link, but it would be very difficult for people inside one of the moon bases to communicate with roaming, wandering astronauts through lasers. (Even if we're talking sufficiently low-powered lasers that there's no health risk to the astronauts.)

Moon bases could also of course lay land lines, but that's tedious and risk-prone, especially in the face of other options. Radio waves are still the best bet, outside of any pressurized environments such as a moon base or moon camp.

Answer 2

You could use a wired system, such as a telephone. Or you could use light, perhaps semaphore, or slightly more high tech, use a laser as a carrier.

Answer 3

they can use radios, radios don't rely on sound waves to work

Answer 4

Writing, sign language, lip-reading.