On September 12, 1962, then-US President John F. Kennedy informed the public of his plan to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade.
It was the height of the Cold War and America needed a major victory to demonstrate its space superiority after the Soviet Union launched the first satellite and put the first human into orbit.
“We chose to go to the moon,” Kennedy told a crowd of 40,000 at Rice University, “because we’re willing to take on this challenge, not deferring it, and one that we want to win.”
Sixty years later, the United States launches the first mission of its return program to the moon, Artemis. But why repeat what has already been done?
There has been criticism in recent years, for example, from Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins and the founder of the Mars Society, Robert Zubrin, who have long advocated that America fly directly to Mars.
But NASA argues that retaking the moon is a must before a trip to the Red Planet. Here’s why.
– Long space missions –
NASA aims to develop a sustained human presence on the moon, with missions lasting several weeks – compared to just a few days for Apollo.
The goal: to better understand how to prepare for a multi-year round trip to Mars.
In space, radiation is much more intense and poses a real threat to health.
The low-Earth orbit on which the International Space Station (ISS) operates is partially shielded from radiation by the Earth’s magnetic field, which is not the case on the moon.
From the first Artemis mission, many experiments are planned to study the effects of this radiation on living organisms and to evaluate the effectiveness of a radiation protection vest.
What’s more, while the ISS can often be resupplied, trips to the moon, a thousand times more distant, are much more complex.
In order not to have to take everything with them and to save costs, NASA wants to learn how to use the resources available on the surface.
In particular, water in the form of ice, whose presence has been confirmed at the lunar south pole, could be converted into rocket fuel by splitting it into its separate hydrogen and oxygen atoms.
– Test new equipment –
NASA also wants to pilot the technologies on the moon that will continue to develop on Mars. First, new spacesuits for spacewalking.
Their design was entrusted to the Axiom Space company for the first mission, which will land on the moon no earlier than 2025.
Other needs: Vehicles – both pressurized and non-pressurized – to allow the astronauts to move around, and habitats.
Finally, for sustainable access to an energy source, NASA is working on the development of portable nuclear fission systems.
It will be much easier to solve any problems that arise on the Moon, which is only a few days away, than on Mars, which can only be reached in at least a few months.
– Setting up a waypoint –
A key pillar of the Artemis program is the construction of a space station in orbit around the moon called Gateway, which will serve as a relay before traveling to Mars.
All the necessary equipment can be sent there in “multiple launches” before finally being escorted by the crew to embark on the long journey, Sean Fuller, in charge of the Gateway program, told AFP.
“A bit like you stop at your gas station to make sure you get all the stuff and then you’re on your way.”
– Maintaining leadership over China –
Mars aside, another reason the Americans put forward for colonizing the moon is to do so before the Chinese, who plan to send in taikonauts by 2030.
China is now the United States’ main competitor as Russia’s once-proud space program has atrophied.
“We don’t want China to suddenly come there and say, ‘This is our exclusive territory,'” NASA CEO Bill Nelson said in a recent interview.
– for the sake of science –
While the Apollo missions returned nearly 400 kilograms of lunar rock to Earth, new samples will allow us to further deepen our knowledge of this celestial object and how it formed.
“The samples we collected during the Apollo missions changed the way we see our solar system,” astronaut Jessica Meir told AFP. “I think we can expect the same from the Artemis program.”
She also awaits further scientific and technological breakthroughs, just like during the Apollo era.
