"The moon's surface is rich in silicon, aluminum, titanium, and many of the rare earth metals," said science fiction author Ben Bova. It's a 'snap!' Though the U.S. remains the only country to put humans on the moon, the Soviet Union put a probe on the surface in September 1959, as did China in December 2013 and January 2019. Their reasons range from: furthering scientific research, to exploring the cosmos for funsies, to saving humanity from, uh, something. That said, several nations—including private companies from those nations—are working on robotic Moon initiatives that could support future human missions. The recent dramaticconfirmation of water there spotlights how answers on the moon could shedlight on the history of life on Earth. The hope is that people could spend time on the Moon to learn how to live in a forbidding environment. While many scientists think the moon was created when a Mars-size space rock slammed into Earth and knocked off a piece of it, the details need to be worked out, and other scientists dispute that explanation. There was a problem. The shocked quartz is what really proved an impact,and was totally unexpected.". POLL: Just How Important is Water on the Moon. Please deactivate your ad blocker in order to see our subscription offer. Humans could be sent to visit an asteroid, to establish a long-duration base on the Moon, or to explore Mars and its small moons. (Tomorrow we'll play devil's advocate and lay out the cons to revisiting the lunar landscape. For instance, after the Apollo missions went to the moon, theydiscovered the meteor impacts that pock its surface could leave behind shockedquartz and other chemical and physical signatures. A Final Word. "If you're dependent on public excitement to determine whether something is worth doing or not, you're not going to do much," said Paul Spudis, a lunar geologist at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston. but rather, "Where should we go first?". "If there's any use for human spaceflight atall, it's to create a sustainable presence off-Earth. Human Moon landings require more resources than robotic landings, since humans require water, oxygen, food, and other amenities to remain alive. Even NASA has shifted its sights to fresher targets for exploration: an asteroid and Mars. ", The moon is also loaded with fuel for nuclear fusion in the formof helium-3, Taylor explained. "That not only means that you can't generatesolar power from sunlight during the nighttime, but also huge temperatureswings from 100 degrees C (212 degrees F) to -150degrees C (-238 degrees F), which can be hard on equipment we bring up there.In areas always blazing in solar illumination at the moon, it always remains aroughly toasty -50 degrees C (-58 degrees F), so it's easier to controltemperature. "It's very exciting to me!" SPACE.com asked many scientists, astronauts and space leaders about the role our moon could play in future exploration. Thousands more satellites will soon orbit Earth. (The six manned moon landings were from 1969 through 1972. [10 Coolest New Moon Discoveries]. For many, the question isn't, "Should we go to the moon OR Mars?" Astronauts can perform geological exploration and complex scientific research far better than robotic systems.". "There's a tremendous amount put in thesoil by the sun via the solar wind," he explained. NY 10036. Some say that whether the moon is emotionally inspiring as a destination is beside the point. "The moon might make a great retirement center," said Bova, who is 78. In going to the Moon, NASA is laying the foundation that will eventually enable human exploration of Mars. If you're not doing that,you might as well send machines.". "I understand that some believe that we should … you have extremely young patches that have virtually no impactcraters superimposed on them," Spudis said. ', Video ? Space is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. "Enriched levelsof iridium had been found at the boundary, but some had said those might havebeen due to volcanic activity. "What I think is the most significant and most interesting about the new discoveries is the discovery of massive amounts of water at the poles of the moon," Spudis said. S tephen Hawking persuaded Buzz Aldrin that humans should return to the Moon before venturing to Mars.. Prof Lewis Dartnell – Astrobiologist, University of Westminster, UK The only astrobiological reason that you need to justify a return to the Moon is that it preserves ancient rocks from the Earth that have been splashed up by big asteroid strikes. Thank you for signing up to Space. Here’s a brief (as can be) overview of a few of the reasons no human has traveled more than a few hundred kilometers beyond Earth’s atmosphere since 1972: Thewater at the moon's poles is useful not just for life support, but also to makepropellant for spacecraft, he noted. Plus, travelers to the moon could mine the lunar surface for commodities useful not just for building lunar colonies but for life on Earth, some say. It was the furthest humans had ever been from their home planet at that point - and a vital stepping stone on the road to Apollo 11's historic moon landing just seven months later. Written by Elizabeth Howell Future expeditions could study this water and learn more about the complex makeup of this planetary body. "The histories of themoon and Earth are tightly linked, and one illuminates the other," Spudissaid. These samples revealed that the moon’s geology is quite similar to Earth’s, suggesting that the moon could have been formed by the coalescence of a splintered chunk of Earth’s mass blown into space due to a catastrophic collision with another celestial body. But you can retrace the bombardment history of Earth by studying the bombardment history of the moon.". "Moreover, human missions have flight systems that allow for enhanced capabilities that are not possible in robotic spacecraft. "Living at one-sixth gravity might make my aching joints feel a lot better.". The moon could hold other secrets regarding our world, includingbits of Earth. To go to the moon, we needed a rocket two floors taller than my office if you count the launch escape tower. By going to the moon, "we developed acompletely different view of how evolution works and the history of life onEarth that came completely out of left field," Spudis said. There are other reasons to return to the moon, however. "The Apollo astronauts made only brief visits to only six places on the moon, all near the equator," said Richard Vondrak, deputy director of the Solar System Exploration Division at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "You don't have to wait months for launch windows, and it's only a three-day trip," Spudis said. Here, then, is the case for the moon. "We'd want to learn how to live off where you arewherever you go," Spudis said. Althoughthe Constellation program designed as NASA's next human spaceflight program isnow in jeopardy, "it's not dead yet ? © The rocks that have been collected so far from the moon are morethan just ornaments in a museum. And it just might replace Florida as a mecca for senior citizens. the futureof its human spaceflight program. Thousands more satellites will soon orbit Earth. "One current debate in impact studies is: Is the impact flux on Earth episodic – does it occur in cycles?" Here are some reasons go back, although not necessarily to "colonize" the Moon. Advertisement. In fact, our chances of making it to Mars could ride on whether we go back to the moon first, proponents say. The last human on the Moon — to date — was Gene Cernan in 1972. "It would use the moon as a shield against radar noise fromEarth, and of course there's no atmosphere to interfere withobservations," Spudis noted. You need one of those three stage monsters to get humans and the extra weight to the moon. Without the experience of returning to the moon, however, we will not have the engineering, operational, or physiological insight for many decades to either fly to Mars or land there," planetary scientist Harrison "Jack" Schmitt   –who as a NASA astronaut was the last person to walk on the moon– wrote in a statement. And here I want to tip my hat to Prof Ian Crawford, of the University of London, for these ideas. You will receive a verification email shortly. Get breaking space news and the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more! Andthe very airlessness of the moon could shed light on all the other airlessbodies in the solar system. The moon could provide not just practice for future missions elsewhere, but perhaps a midway point on those journeys. Space calendar 2021: Rocket launches, sky events, missions & more! "There is a lot of good science that we've only scratched the surface on," said former astronaut Tom Jones, a veteran of four space shuttle flights, who has a doctorate in planetary science. "The Earth's dynamic surface erases the impact record. "This isn't the sole reason to go back to the moon, but I do think there's an element of, it's in our human nature to explore," Watkins said. Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! Get breaking space news and the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more! Please refresh the page and try again. Well, that is one of the reasons. They point to the relative ease of getting there, the deserving science that could be furthered there, and the moon's ability to serve as a testing ground for even more complicated deep space missions. This isotope could be useful for nuclear fusion research, and many hope it could be converted into rocket fuel. Is this the real reason why we never return to the Moon? New York, ", Moreover, there are still many pressing unanswered scientific questions about our nearest space neighbor. "It's a life-sustaining consumable.". Astronaut Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin, Jr., lunar module pilot of the first lunar landing mission, is beside the U.S. flag during an Apollo 11 moon walk. "It only makes sense to use the moon as a testing ground and proving ground and staging ground for missions to Mars and other parts of the solar system.". Peter Diamandis, chairman and chief executive of the X Prize Foundation, wrote in an e-mail. The Moon will provide a proving ground to test technologies and resources that will take humans to Mars and beyond, including building a sustainable, reusable architecture. Ultimately, the moon may represent the best chance humanity has of establishing a foothold in space. As NASA's plans to returns astronauts to the moon face cancellation,there remain many reasons to go back, researchers said. "We need to expand the human 'economic sphere' beyond geostationary orbit to the moon," Diamandis said. "For example, the hundreds of kilograms of lunar samples returned by Apollo greatly exceeds the capacity of robotic flight systems. NY 10036. For many space enthusiasts, its exploration and exploitation is necessary if we are to make the next giant step in space: sending people … "The moon is the perfect ground to get our feet wet for Mars," said space entrepreneur Robert Bigelow, founder of Bigelow Aerospace, which is aiming to put private space station modules in Earth orbit. "The moon is the only logical first destination," said William Pomerantz, senior director of space prizes at the X Prize Foundation. It's a 'snap!' "And if you do iteffectively, you end up with no radioactivity.". After Apollo 12 left lunar orbit this image of the moon was taken from the command module on Nov. 24, 1969. Today, as America plans to lead efforts to send humans to Mars in the early 2030s, it is important to clearly articulate the rationale for undertaking such ambitious missions. "The moon is exciting as Alaska was in the 1800s. Spacecraft could land and refuel there before taking off for farther destinations. There are several reasons why humans haven't yet been back to the Moon since the Apollo program ended five decades ago, but the main drivers are the lack of funding and the lack of political decisiveness around setting a … For instance, in the years since men first walked on the moon, orbiting satellites have revealed evidence that its surface contains hidden reserves of water.

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