The moon and colonization

I am certain that one day humans will colonize the moon. I do think it is realistic to do so, for scientific reasons. We can learn so much more about the way the Universe works by being more involved with it. It is one small step into the unknown. That is an exciting development for the human race. I think that the moon could be used as a base to launch future missions to other planets. It is likely that building spacecraft in a low gravity environment could actually be beneficial because the engineers could build bigger craft. Would it be safe or healthy for humans living in this environment? Not in the long term I don't think it would, for mid term lengths of time like 6-8 months it could probably be handled. The base would presumably have some form of artificial gravity, which would reduce the amount of muscle waste. It is important to do plenty of exercise in a low gravity environment. There is also the problems of space debris, and being away from home in such an environment for a long time could be disorientating and could lead to psychological problems. All of this would need the proper medical and counselling staff on hand to make sure that the astronauts did not spend too much time without a good back up health care system.