Moon Race: How Nations Are Competing to Discover Earth’s Natural Satellite – Today’s Innovation & Technology

The Moon, Earth’s only natural satellite, has been a source of fascination and inspiration to mankind for millennia. It has also been the target of scientific discovery and investigation since the dawn of the space age. Over the next year, several countries and private companies are planning missions to the Moon, each with their own set of goals and challenges. Here’s an overview of some of the most notable lunar missions scheduled to take place in 2023.

America: Artemis II and III

US space agency NASA is leading the ambitious Artemis program, which aims to put the first woman and first person of color on the Moon by 2025 or 2026. The program also intends to establish a presence sustainable human presence on the lunar surface and use it as a stepping stone for future exploration of Mars and beyond.

The first Artemis program mission, Artemis I, successfully completed lunar orbit in December 2022, using the Orion spacecraft and a Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The next mission, Artemis II, is scheduled to launch in 2024 and will send four astronauts to lunar orbit. The third mission, Artemis III, will be a historic landing, using a SpaceX Starship vehicle to transport two crew members to the lunar south pole region.

NASA hopes that the Artemis program will inspire a new generation of explorers and scientists, as well as foster international cooperation and commercial partnerships for lunar exploration.

Europe: HERACLES

The European Space Agency (ESA) is working with NASA, Japan and Canada on a series of missions that will pave the way for human exploration of the Moon. One of these missions is HERACLES (Human Augmented Robotics and Architecture and Discovery Science and Architecture), scheduled to launch in 2027.

HERACLES will consist of a lander, a rover and an ascent vehicle that will transport samples from the lunar surface to an orbital portal station. The rover will be piloted by astronauts on the portal or on Earth, using advanced remote control technologies. The samples will be shipped to Orion for return to Earth.

HERACLES will demonstrate key technologies and capabilities for future human missions to the Moon, such as precision landing, surface mobility, sample handling and communications. It will also conduct scientific investigations into the environment and resources of the moon.

China: Chang’e 7

China has continuously promoted its lunar exploration program since 2007, when it launched its first lunar orbiter, Chang’e 1. Since then, China has achieved a number of important milestones. , such as landing a rover on the far side of the Moon (Chang’e 4) and returning lunar samples to Earth (Chang’e 5).

The next mission in China’s lunar program is Chang’e 7, which is expected to launch in 2024. Chang’e 7 will include an orbiter, a lander, and a rover. and a flying probe will explore the moon’s south pole region. The mission will conduct comprehensive surveys of the topography, geology, mineralogy, composition, environment and resources of this area, which has high scientific interest and potential for settlement and future human commercial exploitation.

China has also announced plans with Russia to establish a joint base on the Moon by 2035, but no timeline has been outlined for the project.

Russia: Moon 25

Russia has a long history of lunar exploration dating back to the Soviet Union, when it launched the first artificial satellite (Sputnik 1), the first spacecraft to approach the Moon (Luna 1) and the first soft landing. fairy on the Moon (Luna 9). ).

After more than four decades of hiatus, Russia is resuming its lunar program with Luna 25, scheduled to launch in July 2023. Luna 25 will be a lander that will touch down near the moon’s south pole and collect collect samples from its surface. The lander will carry a number of instruments to study the thermal regime, plasma environment, dust dynamics and chemical composition of the landing site.

Luna 25 is intended to be the first in a series of missions that will explore various aspects of the Moon, such as the geology, magnetosphere, exosphere, volatiles, and internal structure of the Moon. It.

India: Chandrayaan 3

India is another emerging space power that has set its sights on the Moon. India’s first Moon mission, Chandrayaan 1, was launched in 2008 and orbited the Moon for almost a year, making several discoveries, such as the presence of water molecules on the surface of the Sun. moon.

India’s second lunar mission, Chandrayaan 2, launched in 2019 and includes an orbiter, a lander and a rover. However, the lander and rover failed to make a gentle landing on the Moon and crashed near the south pole.

India is currently preparing for its third lunar mission, Chandrayaan 3, scheduled to launch in June 2023. Chandrayaan 3 will be an iteration of Chandrayaan 2, with a lander and a rover that will Try to land near the south pole and explore this planet. terrain and resources. The orbiter from Chandrayaan 2 will continue to operate and relay data from the lander and probe.

Chandrayaan 3 will be India’s second attempt to make a light landing on the Moon and showcase its technological capabilities for future Moon missions.

Japan: SMALL

Japan has also been involved in lunar exploration since the late 2000s, when it launched its first lunar orbiter, Kaguya (SELENE), which mapped the Moon in high resolution and detected traces. of water ice in permanently obscured craters.

Japan’s next lunar mission, SLIM (Smart Lander for Investigating the Moon), is likely to launch sometime later this year. SLIM will be a small lander that will test strategies for making high-precision landings on the Moon, with a level of precision never before achieved by any other nation. The mission will target a small crater near the equator and deploy cameras to take pictures of the landing site.

SLIM will pave the way for future missions that require precision landing capabilities, such as sample return or resource utilization.

Korea: KPLO

South Korea is a newcomer to lunar exploration, with the first mission to the Moon scheduled to launch in August 2023. The mission is called KPLO (Pathfinder’s Moon Orbiter by KPLO). South Korea), and it will include an orbiter that will orbit the Moon for at least a year.

KPLO will carry six instruments to study various aspects of the lunar environment, such as magnetic fields, plasma, radiation, topography, mineralogy and gravity. The ship will also carry a small payload from NASA, called ShadowCam, which will map the distribution of water ice in permanently obscured regions near the poles.

KPLO will be South Korea’s first step to secure and verify its space exploration capabilities and obtain new scientific measurements of the Moon.

The moon race is on

The Moon is seeing renewed interest and activity from various countries and organizations who are eager to uncover its mysteries and opportunities. Next year will see an unprecedented number of missions towards the Moon, each with their own set of goals and challenges. These missions will not only enhance our scientific knowledge and technological capabilities, but can also foster international cooperation and commercial innovation for lunar exploration.

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