Everyone is going to the moon, so they say. Between national space programmes and private initiatives, 2018 is the goal launch year for at least eight different missions to the moon, making it the most popular destination outside low Earth orbit.
Elon Musk said last year that SpaceX plans to send two tourists on a jaunt around the moon in 2018 using his Falcon Heavy rocket and Crew Dragon capsule. Neither of these have flown yet, so they face significant testing before their intended launch date at the end of the year, and even a minor issue with one of them could delay the journey. Musk has not revealed the identities of the astro-tourists, who will pay an undisclosed – but surely astronomical – amount of money for the ride. President Trump declared in December that the US will send astronauts back to the moon, but in this modern moon race, plenty of others are set to beat them there.
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The Google Lunar X Prize is the motivation for five privately funded groups making efforts to launch and land a lunar rover. The first of these firms to cruise across the moon’s surface and send back video will receive $30 million. Barring further extensions – there have been several since the challenge was announced in 2007 – the competition will end on 31 March. All the contenders have contracts with launch providers, but the rovers are still being built and there is no guarantee they will be ready in time or survive the voyage.
“The lunar surface is the most popular destination outside low Earth orbit. It might even get a bit crowded”
They are not the only ones getting in on moon mania. India aims to launch its first rover in March, along with a lunar orbiter and lander. China’s Chang’e 4 mission is set to launch in December 2018 with the country’s second lunar lander and rover. Designed as a backup for their predecessors, these have been repurposed for a more difficult landing on the far side of the moon. Chang’e 3 roamed the lunar surface for a year and a half before it stopped transmitting in 2015. Now, it will have a pal. In fact, things might even get a little crowded.
This article appeared in print under the headline “Return to the moon”
