If you are 54 years old or younger, then no one has stood on the moon in your lifetime. Beginning in 1969, six US missions sent men – always men – to explore the surface of our planet’s satellite. The missions came to an end in 1972, partly because what had seemed a civilisation-expanding achievement had become ho-hum.
It took us just three years to grow blasé about something humans had dreamed about for millennia. There was little support for spending the sort of money required, the Cold War between Russia and US that had driven the competition had moved to other arenas, and all the pretty pictures had been taken. There just wasn’t that much left to do on the moon that could inspire enthusiasm back on Earth.
Until now, it would seem, with several countries aiming to visit the neighbour. Four of them: the US, Russia, China and India have all landed something or someone on the moon at some point, but the players have changed over the years. As well as the four pioneers, Japan, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, the EU, via the European Space Agency, Israel, South Africa, Luxembourg, Sweden and other countries have also had, or still have, various levels of involvement in moon missions.
As with most races, the odds of success change the closer we get to the event itself. A few years ago, who would have predicted that in the 2023 contest, India would get there first, landing an unmanned craft on the moon last month, just days after a Russian craft crashed into it. The US is still planning to get people back there in 2025 and China is aiming to do the same by 2030.
There is nothing sudden or too surprising about the current level of interest. As our own planet’s resources run out the drive to replace them is leading governments and businesses to look further afield – in this case, 384,400 kilometres further.
Baby steps. India’s mission went to a part of the moon where it is believed there may be water. If humans are to explore the moon to any great degree, they will need lots of water and, as any camper knows, water weighs too much to take it with you. Water could also be used to make fuel to propel us further into space – in particular to the mineral-rich satellites in the asteroid belt.
The moon may quite possibly be rich in Helium 3, useful for nuclear fusion and also with enormous potential as an energy source. While Earth’s magnetic field helps shield against H3 from hitting the planet, the Moon has lacked such protection and is believed to have an abundance of H3.
Landing on the moon also does wonders for a nation’s cred. In India, long one of the world’s poorest countries, the fillip to national pride and self-esteem was out of this world. For Russia, on the other hand, a crash landing was just another downer in what is turning out to be a less-than-fabulous year for them.
Although the cold hard hostility that drove the initial space race is no longer part of lunar motivation, getting a craft there sends a clear message to other countries about your own nation’s abilities and ambitions.
Past moon missions have also driven technological advances back here, playing a part in the development of everything from memory foam to camera phones. This pattern hasn’t ceased. Japan is preparing to send a robot lander called SLIM – “about the size of small food truck” explained the New York Times in terms that made it easier for Americans to understand. SLIM will test advanced navigation technology.
Japan is preparing to launch a Lunar lander experiment mission SLIM,will also share a ride with XRISM telescope from Tanegashima space center onboard the Japan's H-IIA rocket #Japan #JAXA #SLIM #XRISM
— Wavingfrommoon (@wavingfrommoon) August 27, 2023
📸: SLIM mission animation form JAXA pic.twitter.com/Vbo4UHYbhv
So far, so very practical. Leave it to the Americans to lay out something more visionary: the Gateway project, which is part of Nasa’s current focus. As described in the Guardian this would see a space station orbiting the moon, controlling robots on the surface that would do the heavy lifting, setting up “radio telescopes, to harvest minerals, to search for ice and water and to study how lunar rocks could be used as building materials for a lunar colony. Ultimately a craft would one day carry humans down to work on the moon in colonies prepared for them by robots”.
Finally, in some possibly not-too-distant future, we will need to see whether humans can reproduce off-planet, an ability that will be essential for interstellar exploration. Still – you wouldn’t want to grow up as the first kid born on the moon, having to put up with innovative playground taunts of “Oi, Moonie! Show us your dark side!”
