I can think of a billion better ways to spend billions of dollars than building a lunar base and calling it Home Sweet Home. The exorbitant cost of such an ambitious undertaking has hamstrung many well-meaning missions from NASA planners, and the exact cost to taxpayers isn't exactly known. Wendover Productions has put this mathematical problem under the microscope and calculated what the probable price would be to embark on a permanent voyage to our beloved satellite, including research and development fees and the logistics of dropping tons of cargo onto the lunar crust, constructing a habitat, growing food and recycling water.

Colonizing the moon most likely won't appear on any official governmental budget allocation in the near future, but it's always free to dream! Pull out you calculators and follow along with this number-crunching video adding up just how many dollars it would take to set up housekeeping on the magnificent desolation of the moon, with some economical options destined to save a buck or two along the way.

Video of 7ouiTMXuDAQ

(Via Geek Tyrant)