Location from The Expanse by James S.A. Corey
Earth's moon and a major UN government center. Lower gravity than Earth, domed cities, and the administrative infrastructure that helps run thirty billion lives. Where the powerful live when they want to be close to Earth but above it.
Luna is Earth's anteroom — close enough to feel connected, far enough to feel exclusive. UN government functions split between Earth's surface and Luna's domed cities, with many senior officials maintaining residences on both. The lower gravity is easier on aging bodies, which is why the powerful tend to migrate upward as they age. The moon hosts critical military command infrastructure, diplomatic facilities, and the kind of quiet wealth that doesn't need to advertise itself. Avasarala has spent significant time on Luna during various political crises, using its proximity to Earth as both a strategic advantage and a psychological buffer. For Belters, Luna represents everything they resent — the inner planets' casual wealth, their assumption that civilization means domed cities and Earth in the sky, their inability to understand that gravity is a privilege, not a right.
Domed cities spread across the lunar surface, their transparent ceilings showing stars and the blue curve of Earth overhead. Interior spaces are clean, well-maintained, and designed with the quiet wealth of the inner planets. Gravity is one-sixth Earth standard — enough to walk normally but everything moves differently. Government complexes, diplomatic residences, and military command centers cluster in the major settlements. The architecture is Earth-modern transplanted to vacuum: glass, steel, and carefully maintained green spaces under artificial light.
Also known as: Luna, The Moon, Earth's Moon