THIS is the year of the moon, and it is already kicking off. The first launch of the Vulcan rocket on 8 January marked the start of what may be the biggest deluge of missions the moon has ever seen, thanks to NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) programme.
The first CLPS mission is Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander, an uncrewed craft lofted on Vulcan that hoped to reach the lunar surface on 23 February. It could have been the first time a private firm touched down on the moon, but Peregrine suffered a fuel leak and won’t now make it to its intended destination. Nevertheless, there are more such missions planned this year, with the world’s space agencies and firms determined to make it to the moon.
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In the midst of all this robotic exploration, preparations are also afoot to have humans land there as well, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished since 1972. NASA’s Artemis II mission, planned for the end of the year, will take four astronauts around the moon, including Christina Koch, the first woman to travel to Earth’s satellite (see interview, “Christina Koch: ‘I come to work to do cool things like go to the moon’”). If it goes well, this will be the last dress rehearsal for the return of astronauts to the lunar surface.
That surface, free from the influences of geological and biological activity, can give us crucial details not just about Earth’s past, but about the evolution of the entire solar system. Plus, it is an important jumping-off point for any journeys further afield. The technologies for those missions will have to be tested somewhere, and the moon, with all its similarities to Mars and other relatively small worlds, is arguably the best place for doing so.
Still, with so much activity on the lunar surface that it could be said to be entering a new geological era akin to the Anthropocene (see “Our Moon review: Humanity’s history with our closest satellite”), we should proceed with care to avoid despoiling it. Our moon is a pristine time capsule from our planet’s past and a reminder of the way our world has changed through our actions. To not learn from our mistakes would be unforgivable.
