by What is happening
In the four-year period between 1969 and 1972, 12 American astronauts walked on the moon. No one, from any nation, repeated that feat for more than 50 years later.
The United States hopes to break that streak within the next few years through NASA’s new lunar program, called Artemis. The space agency now hopes that Artemis III, whose mission is to return astronauts to the surface of the moon, will be ready for launch by the end of 2026. A precursor to that mission is planned, to put humans in captivity around the moon. for 2025. Those two missions were originally scheduled to take place a year earlier, but NASA announced earlier this week that they were pushing them back to allow more time to address “ challenges” in the development of spacecraft that will carry astronauts on the journey.
The first moon landing was one of the significant historical events of the 20th century, but interest in putting people on the moon quickly waned after the goal of just getting there was achieved. Today, NASA hopes not only to make the moon, but to lay the groundwork to establish a “long-term presence” there and eventually use it as a launch pad to send humans to Mars.
The big change that prompted this new, expansive vision of returning to the moon was the discovery of water on the moon’s surface, which has only been confirmed in the last few years. In theory, water extracted from icy patches within deep craters or extracted from the soil of the moon could not only provide drinking water for long-term settlements, but also — if split into its components — oxygen for breathing and hydrogen for fuel.
We are going to the moon, to stay.NASA Administrator Bill Nelson
Why is there a debate?
The people who might be returning to the moon, and being able to stay there in the end, have a long list of reasons why the effort would be good for the US and humanity in general. The possibilities include potentially groundbreaking discoveries about the origins of the solar system, new technological advances, the chance to mine rare and valuable elements for use on Earth and even the chance to save humanity from extinction. extinction if life on Earth becomes unsustainable.
Others argue that the world is already in the early stages of another great space race, that several countries and private companies are involved this time, and that the United States has an obligation to lead the way again. In their eyes, America must be first to successfully establish a human presence on the moon, or our competitors – especially China – will have the power to decide what happens there and why.
But skeptics say that the idea that people will be able to live on the moon or any other planet is pure fantasy and it makes no sense to spend hundreds of billions of dollars to create it. There is also concern that, if that dream somehow comes true, the moon could become another venue for humanity’s insatiable appetite for destruction, greed and conflict.
What lies ahead
NASA’s chance of meeting its new Artemis mission deadlines depends on the development of its own Orion spacecraft, which will carry astronauts to the moon, and a lunar lander being built by Elon Musk’s rocket company, SpaceX.
A fourth Artemis mission, to send humans to a planned space station in lunar orbit, is “on track” for 2028, NASA said.
Perspectives
The moon will be a very important ground for our plans to travel further into the solar system
“The Moon could be a place for colonists to get their space legs before humans put down roots in more distant places like Mars.” —David Warmflash, Upworthy Science
Moon colonies are pure science fiction
“People have changed and adapted to world conditions. Move us off our planet, and we begin to fail – physically and psychologically. The cancer risk from cosmic rays and the problems human bodies face in microgravity could be solutions on their own. Furthermore, there may not be a viable economic case for maintaining an afterlife presence.” — Sarah Scoles, Scientific American
Exploring the moon could unlock untold secrets about the solar system
“If you really want to understand the origins of the evolution of the solar system, there is no better place … to go [than] the moon.” — David Kring, lunar geologist, to NPR
We may have to spend huge sums of money to do what we already did 50 years ago
“Part of the problem is that it feels a bit like ending Apollo. It’s not supposed to be: In theory it’s the start of a permanent presence on the moon, which is exciting. But I doubt it’s sustainable, given the costs and the politics.” — David Grinspoon, astronomer, for the New York Times
Mankind should always be in search of incredible things
“At its core is space exploration, and it’s about an appeal for hope and a brighter future. Whether any particular expedition results in a great feat of science or engineering – even art or culture – NASA needs to suggest to the world that continued exploration will fundamentally make our world a little better.” — G. Ryan Faith, SpaceNews
America cannot allow its enemies to command outer space
“The restoration of America’s lunar program has important national security implications. A new space race has emerged from the new cold war between the United States and China. … If the Chinese are going to militarize space, we can’t let them get ahead of us technologically.” — Alexander Hughes, National Review
Lunar mining may be necessary to sustain the quality of life on Earth
“The lunar resources of rare earths are a thousand times more abundant than the earth’s reserves. In fact, the development of the moon is the only long-term solution to living with our dwindling terrestrial resources.” —Joseph Silk, Princeton University Press
The pursuit of commercialism and competition may destroy irreplaceable scientific sites
“We don’t want to block the construction of moon bases. However, there are only a handful of promising sites and some of them are extremely valuable from a scientific point of view. We have to be very careful when we build our mines and bases.” — Richard Green, an astronomer at the University of Arizona, to the Bangor Daily News
Advanced robots have made human astronauts obsolete
“We are much higher maintenance than robots. They are less vulnerable to radiation than us, and they do not need food, water or life support systems. Plus, they’re expendable: if, say, a spaceship were to fall apart on landing, no tears would be shed – just send another robot crew.” — Graham Phillips, Sydney Morning Herald
We should not assume that NASA can withdraw its grand plans for space travel
“This is an exciting, uncertain start to an effort to return humans to the lunar surface for the first time in half a century – and that return, if it happens, could be a very short one.” — Rebecca Boyle, MIT Technology Review
