On September 12, 1962, then US President John F. Kennedy set a goal for the United States to send astronauts to the Moon before the end of the 1960s.
In a speech he was giving at Rice University in Texas in the midst of the Cold War, Kennedy said, “We chose to go to the moon (…) not because it was easy, but because it was a difficult task.”
Sixty years later, the United States is close to launching the first mission in its “Artemis” program to return to the moon, but the question arises as to why it accomplished a mission it had previously completed.
Michael Collins, the astronaut on the “Apollo 11” mission, asked why the US space agency (NASA) did not set bigger goals such as going directly to Mars.
However, the US space agency considers going to the moon necessary before any mission to the red planet. Here are its main arguments:
– Use of moon resources
By returning to the moon, NASA wants to establish a permanent human presence on it with missions that will remain several weeks on its surface, while the Apollo mission previously only lasted a few days. Through this end, NASA seeks to reach a clearer understanding of how to prepare for the launch of a multi-year mission to Mars.
Space radiation on more distant planets is more intense and poses a major threat to human health. The low orbit where the International Space Station operates is partially shielded from the Earth’s magnetic field, which is not present in the case of the Moon.
Starting with the first “Artemis” mission, several experiments are planned to study the effect of this radiation on living organisms and evaluate the effectiveness of anti-radiation jackets.
While it is possible to resupply the International Space Station, trips to the Moon (a thousand times further than the station) are more complicated in this respect.
To avoid the need to transport everything needed during missions, and subsequently reduce costs, NASA wants to learn how to use the resources that already exist on the moon’s surface, the most important of which is water in the form of ice, which has been confirmed to be in the south pole of the moon, and can be converted into fuel (water is formed of oxygen and hydrogen that rockets use as fuel).
Equipment testing
NASA also wants to conduct tests on the moon about the technologies that will allow it to go to Mars, the most important of which are new spacesuits intended for missions outside of vehicles. Axiom Space has been tasked with designing the suits for the first mission to the moon, which is expected in 2025 at the earliest.
Other equipment that NASA needs to test include vehicles (compact or uncompressed) that allow astronauts to move around, in addition to housing.
With the goal of finding a permanently available energy source, NASA is developing portable nuclear fission systems.
It will be much easier to solve any problem faced by astronauts on the Moon, which takes days to reach, than on Mars, which takes at least several months to reach its surface.
Steps to make it easier to go to Mars
Notable among other Artemis goals is the construction of a space station in lunar orbit called Gateway, which will serve as an intermediate station before missions to Mars.
Sean Fuller, an official with the Gateway program, explains that all the necessary equipment can be sent on “multiple launches”, before the crew follows it on a long trip, noting that this step is similar to the process of stopping at a gas station and making sure that all the details are correct. .
Enhancing scientific knowledge
Although the Apollo mission brought 400 kilograms of lunar rocks to Earth, new samples will enhance scientific knowledge about the moon and its composition. “The samples collected during the Apollo mission have changed our view of the solar system,” says astronaut Jessica Meyer, noting that this development in scientific knowledge “will also continue with the Artemis program.”
Mayer expects that the “Artemis” program will lead to tangible results on the planet (technologies development, engineering developments…) similar to what happened as a result of the “Apollo” mission, due to the investments and scientific enthusiasm associated with new missions to the moon.
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