Stephen arrives at Earth Intergalactic Train Station with a tear in his eye and a dream for a new life. After waving goodbye to his family, he picks up his suitcase and clambers aboard the space train. There is a quick stop at a satellite, and then he reaches his final destination: the Moon.

This is the future, as imagined by a team of Japanese scientists with a grand vision for humans to live on the Moon.

Researchers from Kyoto University have unveiled plans for an "artificial gravity living facility". The first Moon-dwellers will live in a massive 1,300-foot-tall spinning structure called "The Glass", designed to rotate every 20 seconds to create "normal gravity". 

The complex will also include forests and waterfronts to mimic life on Earth. And for budding space travellers, there is even public transport: trains on the Hexagon Space Track System will stop at satellites, the Moon and Mars. 

There is just one catch: the full facilities will not be ready for another 100 years. 

Today, a new space raceAn informal competition between the USA and the Soviet Union. Each power tried to prove its technological sophistication by pushing the frontiers of space exploration. The Soviet Union put the first satellite, the first dog, the first man, and the first woman in space, but the USA was the first to reach the moon. is underway. And the Moon is playing a major role as countries - and companies - look for opportunities beyond Earth's atmosphere. 

Space architect AI Space Factory has announced designs for LINA, a lunar outpost developed with NasaThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration, responsible for the US space programme.. 

LINA will be 3D printed and built by robots on the Moon's south pole near the Shackleton craterThe spot was chosen for its proximity to both sunlight and ice.. Astronomers' comfort is high on the agenda - the plans for LINA show that it is topped with lunar regolithLoose dust and rock that sits on top of a more solid layer of rock.  to protect it from radiation, small meteorites, extreme temperature changes and moonquakes. 

It may be years before LINA is built, but Nasa hopes to put humans back on the Moon for the first time in more than half a century as soon as 2025. 

The creators of the ArtemisIn Greek mythology, Artemis was the goddess of hunting and the Moon, and the sister of Apollo.    project are in a hurry. Last year, Nasa administrator Bill Nelson spoke of his fears that China would claim ownershipThe Outer Space Treaty, signed by 134 countries, including China, in 1967, states that no nation can take possession of the Moon.  of the Moon. "We must be very concerned that China is landing on the Moon and saying, 'It's ours now and you stay out'," he told a German newspaper. 

It was a claim that China swiftly denied. But the nation has its own plans to build a crewed lunar research station, perhaps as soon as 2027. 

The research possibilities are enormous. Scientists dream of a new home for humans if Earth becomes unlivable. The vice president of one company, Mars Express, described the Moon as "Earth's eighth continent", which he hopes can be mined "like every continent on Earth". But not everyone thinks lunar living is a good idea. 

The moon lacks oxygen and easy water sources. Weightlessness can cause bone lossIn space, an astronaut's bones no longer have to support their body against gravity. Their bones then get weaker due to lack of use., back pain and kidney stones. Meanwhile, critics point out that the perfect conditions for life already exist on Earth. 

And if humans do need to leave the planet one day, they say, it would be better to move to MarsThe fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System. .

For now, no one can say for certain when, or even if, the first lunar town will be built. But one thing is clear: as more nations make plans for living on the Moon, the future of humanity, and the entire universe, is at stake.

Yes: Building a permanent lunar base would herald an extraordinary new age of space exploration. And if the Earth becomes uninhabitable due to climate change, we will need a backup home.

No: We already have a place to live: the Earth. It is much better suited to our needs than the Moon. We should focus our efforts on protecting the planet, not looking for alternatives outside of it.

Or... Temporary visits are the way forward - we can learn a lot from the Moon without living there. And if we do need to leave Earth one day, the best option is a more distant location - Mars.

Space Race - An informal competition between the USA and the Soviet Union. Each power tried to prove its technological sophistication by pushing the frontiers of space exploration. The Soviet Union put the first satellite, the first dog, the first man, and the first woman in space, but the USA was the first to reach the moon.

Nasa - The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, responsible for the US space programme.

Shackleton crater - The spot was chosen for its proximity to both sunlight and ice.

Regolith - Loose dust and rock that sits on top of a more solid layer of rock. 

Artemis - In Greek mythology, Artemis was the goddess of hunting and the Moon, and the sister of Apollo.   

Ownership - The Outer Space Treaty, signed by 134 countries, including China, in 1967, states that no nation can take possession of the Moon. 

Bone loss - In space, an astronaut's bones no longer have to support their body against gravity. Their bones then get weaker due to lack of use.

Mars - The fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System.