5 reasons why humans are going back to the Moon | NOVA

Publish date: 2024-07-07

Fifty years after the last Apollo mission, NASA is embarking on a new age of lunar exploration. With the launch of Artemis 1, the agency has begun testing technologies designed for this era, including the massive SLS moon rocket and the Orion spacecraft, which will carry crews on future missions. But why go back at all? NOVA’s “Back to the Moon” explores five reasons scientists and entrepreneurs alike have their sights set on the Moon once again:

To study its water

Water is essential for life on Earth and a critical ingredient for outer space exploration. The Moon would be an ideal space pitstop to gather this resource, but for a long time it was unclear whether it had water at all. After researchers analyzed lunar samples from the Apollo mission, they concluded that the Earth and the Moon are formed from the same materials. This hypothesis raised an intriguing possibility: Might the Moon also have once been wet?

The Moon is a record of solar system history (5:20 - 7:45)

The Moon preserves a complete geologic record that dates back nearly to the formation of the solar system. NASA’s moon-mapping spacecraft, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, has been orbiting the Moon since 2009. It was designed to gather new insight into the Moon’s geological record and scout the surface for future human exploration.

To harness resources to build lunar bases (7:45 - 11:23)

After scientists uncovered the Moon’s mineral wealth, some suggested it could be harnessed to build bases on the Moon. Hauling materials from Earth to build on the Moon could cost billions of dollars. But if the raw materials are already available in space, then all kinds of construction activities become conceivable.

Lunar ice could be a fuel source (29:03 - 32:15)

Water is made up of hydrogen and oxygen, and if those two atoms can be separated and stored, they can fuel a rocket. That’s because hydrogen and oxygen are highly flammable, and when they are burned together, they release a huge amount of energy–enough to propel a rocket. That means that, at least in theory, lunar ice could provide water to drink, air to breathe, and a source of propellant for spaceships to fuel up and head out.

Lava tubes could be lunar shelter (46:12 - 49:03)

To live on the Moon, humans will need to shield themselves from radiation coming from the Sun and deep space. One way to do this might be to live in the Moon, inside lava tubes that formed billions of years ago. Scientists have yet to discover what’s inside them, but similar tubes on Earth might offer clues.

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