Why Nobody has visited the Moon in 50 years

Why Nobody has visited the Moon in 50 years

It has been several decades since the last manned moon landing, Apollo 17, which occurred in December 1972. It is now time to consider returning to our dusty satellite and potentially establishing a permanent presence there. NASA has made a commitment to this endeavor and is preparing to send astronauts to the moon again, possibly by 2025, through a program called Artemis. This program will also include the first woman to experience the lunar surface.

One may question why this has not been done already. A former NASA administrator has stated that the issue is not due to scientific or technological limitations, but rather the potential projects take too long and are too costly. Space travel, especially when involving humans, is a significant financial undertaking. In recent years, NASA has had budgets of billions of dollars, which may seem like enough money, but when considering their extensive to-do list, which includes telescopes, giant rocket projects, and missions targeting the sun, Jupiter, Mars, and beyond, it becomes clear that NASA must be adept at budgeting to achieve all of their goals.

Furthermore, the moon itself presents significant challenges. Its surface is filled with craters and boulders that make landing difficult, and the moon dust, or regolith, is extremely harsh and can potentially damage spacesuits, vehicles, and systems. Additionally, the lunar habitat poses challenges as the moon has no protective atmosphere, resulting in extreme temperatures that humans are not accustomed to. However, NASA is developing dust and sun-resistant spacesuits and vehicles, as well as a system that may supply electricity during lunar nights.

To achieve these goals, NASA must attract highly skilled individuals to their projects. The average age of the people working for mission control during Apollo 13 was just 26 years old, and these individuals had already been part of numerous missions, providing them with considerable experience from a young age.

The Apollo Moon program was a significant undertaking, involving around 400,000 people from all corners of the United States. While there were unfortunate events, such as the fire mishap at the launch pad of Apollo 1 and the oxygen tank malfunction on Apollo 13, NASA successfully completed 13 missions, including chauffeuring 24 astronauts to the moon, with half of them even walking on its surface.

While existing rockets and space shuttles cannot go beyond low earth orbit, NASA has made significant progress on Earth and is ready to send astronauts to the moon again soon. The Artemis project is a program overseen by NASA, and to ensure its success, NASA previously launched Orion, a spacecraft with no crew on board, to orbit the moon and return to Earth.

In the future, a lunar space station could provide fuel for deep space missions, allow for the building and launching of telescopes, and help us learn more about the moon's origin. It could even bring in revenue through lunar tourism.

Living on the moon will present challenges, such as the scorching temperatures, lack of oxygen, meteorite threats, and non-stop radiation. However, companies are developing transportation options, such as space taxis, that will make multiple round trips to support lunar living. Additionally, the moon's lighter gravity and ice can be used to our advantage, potentially allowing us to convert the ice into rocket fuel.

In conclusion, returning to the moon and establishing a permanent presence there is a significant undertaking that presents numerous challenges. However, with NASA's commitment to the Artemis program and the development of new technologies, we may soon be able to achieve this goal and learn more about our dusty satellite.