Americans watched the country's first moonwalk on TV. It might come as a surprise to the generations that followed that the United States lost its ability to land on the moon in the 50's.
NASA has not had a rocket powerful enough to carry astronauts deep into space since 1973.
NASA returned to the moon business on Nov. 16. The launch of NASA's new megarocket marked the beginning of a quest to take humankind multiplanetary. Though no one is inside the spaceship for the Artemis I mission, a successful empty test flight will clear the way for a sequel mission in as little as four years.
NASA wants to one day build a lunar-orbiting base to ferry astronauts back and forth to a moon camp, see the first woman and person of color walk on the lunar surface, and spend long stretches there conducting research and gathering samples. The agency will keep a single eye on the red planet for 140 million miles.
NASA's associate administrator for science said that the commitment to go to the moon should be seen in the context of going to Mars. It's one of the hardest things we've ever done as humans. Going to the moon is easier than the Apollo program. The way we're doing it isn't the same. We are doing it as a world.
NASA needs practice and can't do it alone because of the ambitious vision in which people can travel to and live on Mars. By the time the agency is ready to send the first astronauts to the moon in a few years, it will have spent more than $90 billion on the project. To become multiplanetary requires the development of the lunar economy by other spacefaring nations and commercial partners.
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"It's harder than the Apollo program. And the way we're doing it is very different. We're doing it as a world, not as a country."
America did not always have the will to explore the moon. Most scientists still value it as a resource for understanding the history of the solar system through its undisturbed geology, but politicians have different opinions. NASA should focus on flying to Mars and other new places, like asteroids, according to a speech President Barack Obama gave twelve years ago.
Obama said that they've been there before.
Why did the interest come back after so many years?
The discovery of water on the moon was a game-changing event. There were more scientific and money-making possibilities when Earth's satellite was in the air.
The discovery of water on the moon sparked renewed interest in lunar exploration. Credit: NASA illustration
There are dark craters on the moon that could hold water. Oxygen and hydrogen could be separated for breathing and rocket fuel. The fuel may be used for thousands of satellites that are put into space for various purposes.
It could save a lot of money to avoid the high costs of toting heavy fuel on rockets. The moon could be a gas station.
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According to Watts, Griffis, and McOuat, a geological and mining consulting firm, there could be a $206 billion industry over the next 30 years.
The same rationale has been used to apply to the moon. Iron, titanium, aluminum, Silicon, calcium, and magnesium, among others, would probably be too expensive to ship in large quantities from Earth, but astronauts could use those materials in space to build tools and structures.
Brad Jolliff is the director of the McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences at Washington University. It is cheaper to develop the resources on the moon than it is to launch them from Earth.
NASA would like to be the leader of the way. The moon's South Pole could be explored by astronauts during Artemis III and subsequent missions. They are believed to be places where astronauts will hit ice on the craters. The Apollo landing sites are close to the equator.
Artemis astronauts land on lunar regions far from the Apollo sites. Credit: NASA illustration
The Artemis Accords are an international agreement establishing standards for safe and collaborative space exploration. NASA has competitors. A military-run space program is being built by China. Its own space station, Tiangong, was completed recently.
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India and an Israeli group have been unsuccessful in landing on the moon. There were two crashes on the lunar surface. Ispace is planning to land a rocket on the moon early next year.
"Up until recently, you didn't hear much about a'space race,' but I did hear Administrator Bill Nelson say 'We are in a race,'" Jolliff said. He said it right away.
It's not about repeating Apollo for NASA. They want to go for days and weeks at a time to learn how to live there instead of just going for a few days. The moon will become a crucial testbed for sustaining life away from Earth and preparing humans for long voyages to destinations farther into the universe.
Extreme temperatures, no air, and a lack of food are some of the challenges that need to be overcome.
The moon is ripe for industrialization, according to Scott Amyx, managing partner of Astor Perkins.
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"It's more than a science experiment, it's more than a mission, it's more than a project, it's more than a goal," Amyx said. The stone is a stepping stone. The moon is a launch pad for a lot of different resources and capabilities.
"It's more than a science experiment. It is a stepping stone."
He believes that the lunar-based economy will present financial opportunities in mining, energy, real estate development, transportation, telecommunications, computing power and data storage, and tourism.
Yes, travel.
Several companies have announced plans to build space hotels and mixed-use space stations with room for hundreds of guests. Think of the miles of farming needed to feed them. He sees a lot of new ventures.
NASA wants to use the moon as a testbed for survival away from Earth. Credit: NASA
He said that many legacy family offices made their money by having trade posts. The first general store that sold things to the miners was located there. The way they became wealthy was by coming from all over.
Critics of expensive human space exploration still follow the institution. Skeptics wonder why the agency wants to slingshot people into space when there are other ways to explore the universe.
Zurbuchen is one of the agency's top communicators. The benefits of sending astronauts who can think on their feet, use deductive reasoning, and have situational awareness far exceed what machines can do.
He said that it's kind of funny that we don't do science like that on Earth. There is a volcano that is about to blow up. It isn't safe. Why do they go to the South Pole? You can't send a robot. You can, but you will learn a lot more with a human.
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