08/10/2023 – 11:16 am
The great powers have economic, scientific and/or strategic interests in the space race to the Moon, a crucial step towards Mars.
Our satellite is an ideal place to test space materials and vehicles, as well as to learn how to live in space, without forgetting its natural resources such as water and metals.
– Chinese propulsion –
The Asian giant plans to send astronauts to the Moon before 2030 and its main objective is to build a base there.
China sent its first human being into space in 2003, well after the feat of the Soviets and Americans in 1961, in the midst of the Cold War.
The Chinese space program has been gaining momentum through billionaire investments.
In 2019, he achieved a historic feat: landing a spacecraft on the far side of the Moon.
Then, in 2020, he brought back a spacecraft with lunar samples, an operation that had not been carried out for over 40 years.
In 2021, it managed to land a small robot on Mars.
– The Return of the USA –
NASA’s historic lunar missions were called Apollo.
Half a century later, the American Space Agency now focuses its efforts on the Artemis program, which officially aims to return astronauts by 2025, including the first woman and the first black man on lunar soil.
The objective is to build a base on the surface of the Moon and a space station in its orbit.
All this to make an even more complex and ambitious trip: sending a crew to Mars.
The Starship rocket, developed by SpaceX – billionaire Elon Musk’s company – for these trips, exploded in flight during its first test last April.
– Russia in decline –
Russia will launch its spacecraft to the moon on Thursday night into Friday, the first since 1976.
Called Luna-25, this mission is part of a cycle with a view to a possible lunar orbit base built jointly with China.
Its cooperation with Western space powers was reduced to practically zero after the invasion of Ukraine. Soon after the war broke out, however, President Vladimir Putin assured that Russia would continue to implement its lunar program despite Western sanctions.
– New to the race –
So far, only three countries have managed to land on the surface of the Moon, located about 384 thousand kilometers from Earth: Russia, the United States and China.
But recent technological advances have made it possible to reduce the cost of missions, which encourages new public or private candidates.
In August, India launched and successfully placed the unmanned Chandrayaan-3 rocket in Moon orbit. If all goes according to plan, he should land on the Moon by the end of the month.
The Moon is not an easy target, however. A private Israeli mission that sent a probe in 2019 failed in the attempt. The same problem occurred last April with the Hakuto lander from Japanese startup ispace.
Two other companies, the American Astrobotic and Intuitive Machines, should try their luck later this year.
#Strategic #Space #Race #Moon