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 Cold War and America wanted an enormous victory to display its space superiority after the Soviet Union had launched the primary satellite and put the primary man in orbit.
“We choose to go to the Moon,” Kennedy instructed 40,000 individuals at Rice University, “because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win.”
Sixty years on, the United States is about to launch the primary mission of its return program to the Moon, Artemis. But why repeat what has already been completed?
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.
But NASA argues re-conquering the Moon is a should earlier than a visit to the Red Planet. Here’s why.
Long space missions
NASA needs to develop a sustainable human presence on the Moon, with missions lasting a number of weeks –- in comparison with only a few days for Apollo.
The aim: to higher perceive tips on how to 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 International Space 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 review 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 occasions additional—are way more advanced.
To keep away from having to take all the things with them, and to save lots of prices, NASA needs to discover ways to use the assets current on the floor.
In explicit, 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 pilot on the Moon the applied sciences that may proceed to evolve on Mars. First, new spacesuits for spacewalks.
Their design was entrusted to the corporate Axiom Space for the primary mission which can land on the Moon, in 2025 on the earliest.
Other wants: autos —each pressurized and unpressurized—in order that the astronauts can transfer round, in addition to habitats.
Finally, for sustainable entry to an vitality supply, NASA is engaged on the event of transportable nuclear fission programs.
Solving any issues that come up might be a lot simpler on the Moon, only some days away, than on Mars, which might solely be reached in at the very least a number of months.
Establishing a waypoint
A serious 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 required gear might be despatched there in “multiple launches,” earlier than lastly being joined by the crew to set off on the lengthy voyage, Sean Fuller, answerable for the Gateway program, instructed AFP.
“Kind of like you’re stopping at your gas station to make sure you get all the stuff, and then you’re off on your way.”
Maintaining management over China
Apart from Mars, another excuse put ahead by the Americans for deciding on the Moon is to take action earlier than the Chinese, who plan to ship taikonauts by the yr 2030.
China is the United States’ principal competitors right now because the as soon as proud Russian space program has withered.
“We don’t want China suddenly getting there and saying, “This is our unique territory,'” NASA boss Bill Nelson mentioned in a latest interview.
For the sake of science
While the Apollo missions introduced again to Earth practically 400 kilograms of lunar rock, new samples will make it doable to additional deepen our data of this celestial object and its formation.
“The samples that we collected during the Apollo missions changed the way we view our solar system,” astronaut Jessica Meir instructed AFP. “I think we can expect that from the Artemis program as well.”
She expects additional scientific and technological breakthroughs too, similar to throughout the Apollo period.
© 2022 AFP
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Why return to the Moon? (2022, September 10)
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