On July 20, 1969, humanity achieved what was as soon as thought unattainable: touchdown on the Moon. The Apollo 11 mission, adopted by 5 extra profitable Moon landings, marked a golden period of area exploration.
Nonetheless, after the final mission, Apollo 17 in 1972, people haven’t set foot on the lunar floor once more. It’s been greater than 50 years, so why haven’t we returned to the Moon? The reply is sophisticated, involving politics, economics, and evolving priorities in area exploration.
The Finish of the Apollo Program
The Apollo program was a product of the Chilly Conflict, pushed by a area race between the USA and the Soviet Union. When President John F. Kennedy famously declared in 1961 that America would land a person on the Moon (and safely return him to Earth) earlier than the last decade’s finish, it wasn’t nearly scientific curiosity — it was about demonstrating technological superiority over the Soviet Union.
As soon as the U.S. arguably gained this race with Apollo 11, the urgency diminished. The next missions, whereas profitable, didn’t seize the general public’s creativeness in fairly the identical means. The joy waned, and so did the funding.
The Apollo program was enormously costly, costing roughly $25.8 billion (greater than $257 billion in the present day, adjusted for inflation), based on The Planetary Society. Because the Vietnam Conflict intensified and home points took heart stage, the federal government and the general public started to see the Apollo program as an costly luxurious moderately than a necessity.
Learn Extra: The Prime Apollo Program Milestones
Shifting Priorities: From the Moon to Low Earth Orbit
Because the Nineteen Seventies progressed, NASA’s focus shifted from lunar exploration to different aims, significantly the event of the House Shuttle program, which obtained presidential approval in 1972.
The House Shuttle was designed primarily for missions in low Earth orbit (LEO), similar to deploying satellites, conducting microgravity experiments, and in the end constructing and serving the Worldwide House Station (ISS). The Shuttle was seen to create space journey extra routine and economical. Its reusable nature was purported to decrease the prices of area missions, making area extra accessible.
Nonetheless, this shift to growing and flying the Shuttle meant that lunar missions took a backseat.
Learn Extra: 15 of the Most Life-Altering Spacecraft and Missions That Fueled Our Curiosity
The Excessive Price of Lunar Missions
One of many predominant causes for the lengthy hiatus in lunar exploration is value. Sending people to the Moon is extremely costly. And past the preliminary value of simply getting there, establishing a sustainable presence on the Moon requires a large funding in infrastructure — together with habitats, life assist methods, and dependable transportation automobiles.
In distinction, robotic missions, like these to Mars or the outer planets, are typically rather more cost-effective, they usually have offered unbelievable scientific information with out risking human lives. The success of those robotic missions has, partly, diminished the perceived want for crewed lunar missions over the previous a number of a long time.
Nonetheless, that tide has been shifting in recent times with NASA’s work to make the Artemis Program a actuality. For instance, the President’s Fiscal Price range for 2024 carves out $8.1 billion in funding to “construct on the profitable Artemis I mission and pave the best way for a long-term presence on the Moon.”
Learn Extra: Right here Are 4 Causes Why We Are Nonetheless Going to the Moon
Renewed Curiosity within the Moon
The Artemis program, led by NASA, goals to return people to the lunar floor throughout the subsequent few years. At present, NASA hopes to ship a crew of astronauts across the Moon in September 2025 (Artemis 2) earlier than touchdown a unique crew of astronauts on the Moon in September 2026 (Artemis 3). In contrast to the Apollo Program, the purpose of the Artemis Program isn’t simply to go to the Moon, however to ascertain a sustainable presence, with a watch on utilizing what we study for future crewed Mars missions.
Different international locations, similar to China and India, have additionally expressed curiosity in crewed lunar exploration, with intentions to ultimately launch their very own missions to discover the Moon’s floor and sources. China plans to ship astronauts to the Moon’s South Pole by 2030, whereas India seeks to ship a human on the Moon by 2040.
Personal firms like SpaceX and Blue Origin are additionally growing applied sciences that might make lunar exploration cheaper and accessible.
Learn Extra: Artemis Prepares to Take Folks to the Moon and Past
Evolving Targets: Mars and Past
Whereas returning people to the Moon is lastly once more of curiosity, the main focus of human area exploration additionally consists of extra distant targets, similar to sending people to Mars.
Mars represents the following frontier, with the potential for discovering indicators of previous or current life and the potential for future colonization. That’s why companies like NASA, ESA, and personal firms like SpaceX have set their long-term sights on the Pink Planet.
The technological developments required for a crewed Mars mission are immense, and lots of of them may even profit future lunar missions. As an illustration, the event of latest propulsion methods, life assist applied sciences, and habitats designed for the tough circumstances of Mars may be tailored to be used on the Moon.
Learn Extra: Why Have not People Reached Mars?
A New Period of Lunar Exploration
The reply to why people haven’t returned to the Moon in so lengthy is advanced, involving the shifting priorities, monetary constraints, and evolving technological targets during the last 50 years.
Nonetheless, with lately renewed curiosity and technological developments, we could quickly see a brand new period of lunar exploration, one that might pave the best way for humanity’s enlargement into the photo voltaic system.
Learn Extra: From Legos to Human Feces, Right here Are the 7 Strangest Issues Left in House
Article Sources
Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed research and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors evaluate for scientific accuracy and editorial requirements. Evaluate the sources used beneath for this text:
Jake Parks is a contract author and editor who focuses on overlaying science information. He has beforehand written for Astronomy journal, Uncover Journal, The Ohio State College, the College of Wisconsin-Madison, and extra.
