SPACE — As they descended to the lunar surface on July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin struggled with computer alarms that failed and communications with mission control in Houston. The controllers on Earth were frantically flipping through the logs to identify the error code.
After 13 tense minutes and overshooting the landing site by 6 kilometers, the crew managed to land unharmed near the moon’s equator. There was only 15 seconds left of fuel at that time. However, they sent the much-awaited message on earth via radio: “The Eagle has landed.”
Between 1969 and 1972, the US landed 12 astronauts on the moon as part of the Apollo program. This program was created primarily to defeat the Soviet Union in the race to the moon in the heat of the Cold War. Now, more than 50 years after the first humans landed on the moon, interest in visiting Earth’s natural satellite is increasing again.
This time, space exploration nations are targeting the moon’s south pole, which has become a hotspot for short-term and long-term space exploration.
However, why focus on the moon’s south pole?
Apparently, this is related to the wealth that exists there. Scientists think the moon’s permanently dark south polar region holds vast reserves of frozen water that can be mined to support life and rocket fuel. Of course, the whereabouts of the treasure is just speculation because no one has examined it.
“And that’s why it’s important to check it. Recently, many countries have tried to do just that,” Martin Barstow, a professor of astrophysics and space science at Britain’s University of Leicester, told Live Science.
Also Read: Japan Takes ‘Transformer’ Ball to the Moon, Watch the Sophisticated Video
Russia’s Luna 25 spacecraft attempted to land near the South Pole on August 19, 2023, but failed and crashed. The probe created a 10 meter crater in the southeast region of the moon.
Success in the moon landing attempt occurred on August 23, 2023, when India became the first country to land near the south pole of the moon with the Chandrayaan-3 mission. There, two Indian robotic lander and rover spent a day (14 Earth days) on the moon exploring the nearby region.
The solar-powered explorers confirmed the presence of sulfur, an infrastructure building material that could be key to future human camps. They also measured the temperature of the moon and likely detected moonquakes. In early September, the mission team put both into sleep mode, hoping that a fully charged battery would make it through the bitter night, then wake up when the sun rose again.
In 2026, China plans to send the Chang’e-7 spacecraft on an ambitious attempt to the moon’s south pole. According to the mission plan, the spacecraft will consist of an orbiter, lander, rover and a small flying probe that will hunt for water ice in dark areas.
Meanwhile, later this decade, NASA’s Artemis program aims to land humans near the moon’s south pole for a week-long mission. Explorers from Australia will be one of the supporters of the mission.
Also Read: Indian Robot Finds Sulfur Near the South Pole of the Moon
Building life on the moon?
For many countries involved in the new space race, the goal is not just to visit the moon’s south pole, but to establish permanent life there. “With 50 years of technological progress, anyone can go to the moon. This time, it’s to stay,” Jack Burns, director of the NASA-funded Space Science and Exploration Network at the University of Colorado, Boulder, told Live Science.
2023-09-18 20:16:00
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