Radiation in space is one of a host of problems with space habitation. It's not insurmountable though. You just need shielded habitats.

I'd imagine we'd eventually use Von Neumann probes...robots that land themselves, disassemble themselves into mining and building machines which then use natural resources to build a habitat. Then we turn up when the job is already done.

Quoted Text And then there was that weird vision he had of some girl.  It bugged me that it had nothing to do with anything.  What was up with that?

Quoted Text Clone Sam having a vision of the adult daughter just made me scratch my head.

I thought the film clearly established these reasons. I wasn't confused at all. Also, while GERTY could (fairly) have HAL comparisons, I didn't see this as "ripping off Kubrick" at all. Hey, the director is David Bowie's son, Ground Control To Major Tom and all that  

Anyway, way I understand it: (spoilers ahead)

The "real" Sam was cloned with at least a thousand or so clones. With each clone, a 3 -year lifespan. GERTY is programmed to keep an eye on Sam (clones) and keep Sam's mind on the work at hand. Each "Sam" has a kicker memory of being in "an accident' which is why he wakes up on the medical cot. On first viewing we might actually think he was rescued, possibly by GERTY. However the previous clone, having not much more than two weeks to live, is presumed dead. GERTY woke up a new clone.

All clones have the memories of the real Sam. The real Sam did, in fact, spend three years on the moon (probably getting cloned) the messages from Earth, aside from one, were taped and played back. So every "Sam" dreams of returning home to his "wife". The "interference" and the "technical problems" bother Sam's clones- but this is to keep him from discovering the truth. However, when new "Sam' wakes up and rescues 'Old Sam', Old Sam continues to play back the recorded messages in an order. One of the last messages from his wife is that she fears that she will be 'leaving' him. We draw the assumption, as New Sam does: she does not like his time away from her, she thinks its too dangerous up there etc. she has found another man. We find out the sad truth later- her fears of 'leaving' was her early stages of her illness.

Both Sams think the other Sam is a clone and "they" are not. The Old Sam figures out a way to  knock out the interference, and contacts his home, where he finds out, in surprise, that his wife  had passed on for a number of years, his daughter is in her late teens...and being cared for by the real Sam who asks "Who Is It?" off screen Given the timeline, it is suggested that 19-21 years have passed between Original Sam and the clones. There have been at least four to five clones known to have activated during this period. (*although it may have more of a mindblower if it was more like 70, where a whole century could have nearly passed!)  One (or two?) clones were seen on "the monitors" as a record of disposal.  Then we got Old Sam and New Sam, then, one more to be awakened.

Moon was never boring with me  I also thought the FX were impressive for a small budget. Sam Rockwell playing off Sam Rockwell was neat- but GERTY stole the film a tad bit more.

DJS,

Are you Duncan Jones? All that sounds spot on to me. Watched it again the other night. I really must get out more...

Spacey was class as gerty. Without him or that it wouldnt have worked. But, then again, without Sam Rockwell there wouldn't be a film. Deserves Kudos galore for that one. I still love it.

The new 2001. Pity most haven't seen it and care not a jot. They're missing out.

R xo

Quoted Text Are you Duncan Jones? All that sounds spot on to me.

Well, no...but some folks think I'm the offspring of Ziggy Stardust.
Self-delusional bastard step-child maybe, but I assure you kind sir, I am not.  

Spot on Darren, I was amazed after watching this and going over to IMDB how many people did not realise that the "real" Sam was actually a clone too.

I thought it was a brilliant film, and really enjoyed it. It to be was not so much reminiscent of Kubrick (though of course the influence is there too see) but of Rod Steriing and The Twilight Zone. In fact it is a story that could have come right out of the Twighlight Zone and would certainly have worked as a 20 minute play but the way that this film was paced was just perfect for what it was trying to achieve.

One thing that surprised me greatly after watching it was that Sam Rockwell did not play both clones. There is another actor credited as playing the "new clone". I was sure, all the way through this film that both were played by Sam Rockwell, even though there were some differences in features I thought this was done intentionally.

I can only assume that Duncan Jones did not want to use effects and have sam Rockwell up against himself, as this is often really hard to pull off well (in terms of acting not cgi).

Strange though.

I actually liked the leisurely pace this film had.  It wasn't in a hurry to spill out all the details and instead doled them out piece by piece.  I saw bits of 2001, Blade Runner and especially Outland in the story.  Still, it had its own tale to tell and I found it well-conceived and clever.  I think they could have done more with the ending, though.