Sixty years ago, a real race to the moon took place between the Soviet Union and the United States, culminating in the six Apollo landings between 1969 and 1972. Then the dust settled: no moon base, not even another mission to the moon for quite a while.
Although our satellite remained a scientifically interesting object, some lunar missions were launched in the 1990s, for example the American Clementine in 1994. Other actors gradually joined: Japan (Hiten in 1990, then Kaguya/Selene in 2007) , Europe (SMART-1 in 2003), China (Chang'e 1 in 2007) and India (Chandrayaan in 2008). However, these were orbiters – satellites that orbited the moon and examined it from a distance.
From now on, the focus is on the landers… Japan on Saturday became the fifth country to successfully land on the moon, but its module is in danger of soon running out of power due to a problem with its solar panels. This is an opportunity to take stock of the missions that make up this “Race to the Moon” and understand why our satellite is attracting attention.
During the Japanese SLIM mission, this LEV rover was dropped from the lander onto the lunar surface (artist's impression).
The starting signal for this new race to the moon was given in 2007 with the Google X-Prize (the private sector has been influencing the space sector since the 2000s). This initiative was intended to reward the first private actor to land on the moon. Five teams had been selected as finalists, but none had made it to completion in 2018. However, two came onto the market a little late: the Israeli Beresheet came onto the market in 2019 and the Japanese Hakuto-R came onto the market at the end of 2022… unfortunately without success. It was the beginning, but not the end. Let's look at the current situation.
American NASA, a leading figure between public and private missions
On the American side, the lunar program is diverse. First there is the NASA program, currently called Artemis, which is intended to bring astronauts back to the moon. Due to the SLS rocket, various delays occurred… not to mention insufficient funding or multiple overruns, resulting in Artemis I, an unmanned mission, not being launched until 2022, Artemis II (manned mission around the Moon ) has just been postponed to 2025 and Artemis III (manned mission with landing) will not arrive on the moon until 2026. Note that Europeans and Canadians are involved in this program. Artemis is also the name of non-binding international agreements that bring together 23 countries, mainly from America and Europe, and set “rules” for future lunar activities.
Also read: File: Send people back to the moon
At the same time, the CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative was launched in 2018. It aims to support private companies (currently 14) to develop cargo ships to the lunar south pole and involves a total of 2.6 billion by 2028. We therefore have to put the “private” side into perspective: as far as the development from the New Space is concerned. Until the turn of the millennium, private dynamics will be heavily supported by public money.
This year CLPS comes into play. Astrobotic just launched Peregrine on January 8, 2024, but this probe will not land due to a fuel problem that resulted in an explosion. Astrobotic also has to send the NASA rover VIPER at the end of 2024. Intuitive Machine will launch its Nova-C missions in February and in a few months, while Firefly will launch the Blue Ghost mission soon.
NASA's VIPER rover is being tested in the SLOPE laboratory (Simulated Lunar Operations Lab).
Further missions are planned in the coming years. Similarity: There is always a NASA cargo ship that is more scientific in nature, but sometimes it is complemented by private cargo. For example, Peregrine took human ashes with him… to the great dismay of the Navajos who were protesting the desecration of the moon (NASA informed them that the private sector was doing whatever it wanted).
Finally, Musk develops his own program, with a small tourist visit for the billionaire Maezawa planned “soon”…
China and the Chang'e series explore the visible and hidden sides of the moon
On the Chinese side, the lunar program is named after the goddess Chang'e, who is associated with our satellite. Things are progressing slowly but surely: Chang'e-3 lands on the visible side in 2013, Chang'e-4 lands on the other side in 2019, Chang'e-5 returns a sample of the visible side in 2020, and Chang “E- “6 will do the same with the hidden side this year.” We will then have Chang'e-7 to test the “resources” available on the South Pole side, and Chang'e-8 to in-situ use of those resources will prepare. Manned landers will follow in the 2030s.
Please note: China is also leading an international agreement on an “international lunar research station” with Russia, Venezuela, South Africa, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Egypt as partners.
India is the fourth nation to successfully land on the moon
If India signs the Artemis Accords, it will have its own lunar program. The Chandrayaan-3 probe landed in 2023, causing much celebration – and some political boost from the Prime Minister! The sequel is called LUPEX (Lunar Polar Exploration Mission), a mission planned for 2026 with on-site collection and analysis of lunar samples.
Two significant players remain. First of all, Russia, but it is losing some momentum. After a 47-year shutdown, the Luna 25 lander failed in August 2023 and the Luna 26 orbiter will not arrive until 2027.
This year there will also be a new test for the Japanese private probe Hakuto-R after the failed landing on the lunar soil at the end of April 2023.
Why so much greed?
A bevy of missions will therefore land on the Moon in the coming months and years. It's legitimate to ask why…
Several aspects come into play. First of all, there is of course the scientific side: our natural satellite still holds a few secrets and therefore there is a lot to study there, ideally on site, of course. with a lander) and not from a distance (with an orbiter). But let's be clear: further development of basic knowledge does not achieve much, even if science often serves as an alibi. The private interest in this area is primarily to burden scientific laboratories that want to send their missions.
Second aspect: national pride. As in the 1960s, various countries and business leaders bulge… the moon appears here like a trophy coveted by all.
Third goal: tourism. The Japanese billionaire Maezawa would be the first of them, and probably not the last… Of course, it remains to be seen whether the thing will be profitable in the long term, as the novelty effect quickly wears off and the number of wealthy customers remains low.
The moon, a new mining Eldorado?
Finally, of course, there's the main attraction: lunar resources… So what's so valuable about the Moon?
Also Read: Who Owns Mars, the Moon and Their Natural Resources?
Helium-3, an isotope of helium that can be very useful in nuclear fusion power plants. The only problems: to extract it in large quantities, almost the entire lunar surface must be turned over, scarring it forever, and there is no power plant of this kind yet (only prototypes like ITER, where fusion is controlled as much as possible). possible). for 10 minutes).
Different chemical elements, but at this level metallic asteroids are more interesting once we master space mining (which is far from the case). Finally, water ice – especially where it is cold, in the never-illuminated craters of the lunar poles, which explains why many missions are heading towards these poles.
Through electrolysis we obtain oxygen and hydrogen from this water. Oxygen could be useful for astronauts on site – but remember that no base is funded yet, there are just projects that are far from 100% concrete. Both compounds can also be used as rocket fuel, which could be useful for companies building and launching satellites from the moon. Since there is no moon base yet, such a plan (factory, launch base) is currently science fiction. Finally, a “gas station” on a space highway was also mentioned, but of course the same caveats apply. In short: the exploitation of lunar resources should at best be considered in the very long term and certainly not for the coming years.
A final aspect seems interesting to mention in this context: these lunar resources can be described as non-renewable. In fact, helium-3 and water have accumulated over billions of years, and so it will take a very long time for solar wind and comets to replace what would be exploited. So the question is: Is it a good idea to reproduce on the Moon what we did on Earth?
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