Why go back to the Moon?

On September 12, 1962, then US president John F. Kennedy knowledgeable the general public of his plan to place a person on the Moon by the tip of the last decade.

It was the peak of the Chilly Warfare and America wanted an enormous victory to reveal its space superiority after the Soviet Union had launched the primary satellite and put the primary man in orbit.

“We select to go to the Moon,” Kennedy informed 40,000 folks at Rice College, “as a result of that problem is one which we’re keen to just accept, one we’re unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win.”

Sixty years on, america is about to launch the primary mission of its return program to the Moon, Artemis. However why repeat what has already been accomplished?

Criticism has risen in recent times, for instance from Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins, and the Mars Society founder Robert Zubrin, who’ve lengthy advocated for America to go on to Mars.

However NASA argues re-conquering the Moon is a should earlier than a visit to the Crimson Planet. This is why.

Lengthy space missions

NASA needs to develop a sustainable human presence on the Moon, with missions lasting a number of weeks –- in comparison with just some days for Apollo.

The objective: to raised perceive how one can put together for a multi-year spherical journey to Mars.

In deep space, radiation is way more intense and poses an actual menace to well being.

Low Earth Orbit, the place the Worldwide House Station (ISS) operates, is partly shielded from radiation by the Earth’s magnetic discipline, which is not the case on the Moon.

From the primary Artemis mission, many experiments are deliberate to check the influence of this radiation on residing organisms, and to evaluate the effectiveness of an anti-radiation vest.

What’s extra, whereas the ISS can typically be resupplied, journeys to the Moon—a thousand instances additional—are way more complicated.

To keep away from having to take the whole lot with them, and to save lots of prices, NASA needs to discover ways to use the assets current on the floor.

Specifically, water within the type of ice, which has been confirmed to exist on the lunar south pole, could possibly be remodeled into rocket fuel by cracking it into its separate hydrogen and oxygen atoms.

Testing new gear

NASA additionally needs to check on the Moon the applied sciences that can proceed to evolve for a mission to Mars. First, new spacesuits for spacewalks.

Their design was entrusted to the corporate Axiom House for the primary crewed mission to the Moon, in 2025 on the earliest.

Different wants: automobiles —each pressurized and unpressurized—in order that the astronauts can transfer round, in addition to a set habitat on the lunar base camp.

Lastly, for sustainable entry to an vitality supply, NASA is engaged on the event of transportable nuclear fission programs.

Fixing any issues that come up shall be a lot simpler on the Moon, only some days away, than on Mars, which may solely be reached after at the very least a number of months of voyage.

Establishing a waypoint

A significant pillar of the Artemis program is the development of a space station in orbit across the Moon, referred to as Gateway, which can function a relay earlier than the journey to Mars.

All the mandatory tools could be despatched there in “a number of launches,” earlier than lastly being joined by the crew to set off on the lengthy voyage, Sean Fuller, accountable for the Gateway program, informed AFP.

“Form of such as you’re stopping at your gasoline station to ensure you get all of the stuff, and then you definately’re off in your manner.”

Sustaining management over China

Other than Mars, one more reason put ahead by the People for selecting the Moon is to take action earlier than the Chinese language, who plan to ship taikonauts by the yr 2030.

China is america’ principal competitors at the moment because the as soon as proud Russian space program has withered.

“We do not need China out of the blue getting there and saying, “That is our unique territory,'” NASA boss Invoice Nelson mentioned in a latest interview.

For the sake of science

Whereas the Apollo missions introduced again to Earth practically 400 kilograms of lunar rock, new samples will make it doable to additional deepen our information of this celestial object and its formation.

“The samples that we collected throughout the Apollo missions modified the way in which we view our solar system,” astronaut Jessica Meir informed AFP. “I believe we are able to count on that from the Artemis program as effectively.”

She expects additional scientific and technological breakthroughs too, similar to throughout the Apollo period.

© 2022 AFP