The Moon: A Second Home in the Solar System
*The Moon: A Second Home in the Solar System*
The Moon will be the first place where humans learn to live
on another celestial body. Just three days from Earth, the Moon has low gravity
and natural resources that make it an ideal location to prepare people and
machines for venturing farther into space. As a repository of four billion
years of solar system history and as a place to observe the Earth and the
universe, it has great scientific potential. Exploration of the Moon will also
reveal whether the resources available in space will allow humans to live off
the land. In the 1960s, robotic spacecraft from the United States and the
Soviet Union began exploring the Moon. The first soft landing was made in 1966
by the Soviet spacecraft Luna-9. It was followed by several more Soviet and
U.S. lunar missions, including orbiters, sample-return missions, and rovers.
During this period, six Apollo crews also landed on the Moon and returned
samples to Earth. Thanks to these dramatic successes, lunar material could be
examined in laboratories on Earth. The oldest material proved to be nearly a
billion years older than the oldest known terrestrial rocks. Samples from the
Moon still provide the best measurement of the age of any planetary surface.
Sustained human exploration will start on the Moon. That is where we will learn
to live and work without immediate support from Earth and where we can test
technologies needed for human missions to Mars and beyond. Lunar scientific
exploration will involve three types of investigations: science ‘of the Moon’,
science ‘from the Moon’, and science ‘on the Moon’. Science ‘of the Moon,’
which involves lunar geology, geochemistry and geophysics, will help us
understand the history of the Moon. Current theories suggest the Moon was
created when a body the size of Mars struck the young Earth, throwing vaporized
rock into Earth’s orbit. This material later coalesced into the Moon. The Moon
is an invaluable witness to much of solar system history. It has recorded this
history more completely and more clearly than any other planetary body. For
example, did the comets and meteorites that bombarded the Earth and the Moon in
their early history contain the building blocks of life? The answer may be
preserved on the pristine surface of the Moon. To make sense of the data
encoded in the Moon, we may need both extensive robotic exploration and
sophisticated surveying by humans at sites of high scientific interest. Science
‘from the Moon’ will take advantage of the Moon's lack of atmosphere and its
‘radio quiet’ environment to provide a stable platform for observing the
universe. For example, astronomers are interested in constructing a lunar-based
low-frequency radio telescope to ‘see’ signals emanating from the formation of
the first stars, billions of years ago.
The Global Exploration Strategy The Framework
for Coordination Science ‘on the Moon’ will investigate the effects of the
lunar environment on robotic instruments, equipment and humans. Exposure on the
lunar surface to low gravity, radiation, dust, micrometeorites and wide
variations in temperature will pose numerous challenges. Understanding these
effects will enable engineers to develop materials and design systems for
long-term use by humans in this hostile environment. To sustain human presence
beyond Earth, we must learn from science ‘on the Moon’ how to live and work on
other celestial bodies. A critical step will be to determine whether we can use
the Moon’s resources. For example, the ability to extract oxygen from the lunar
soil might provide not only breathable air for the crew’s life support system
but also perhaps fuel for spacecraft. Another priority will be to build on our
experience with the International Space Station to develop efficient recycling
techniques that will reduce the use of consumables such as air, power and
water. This work may also teach us how to manage precious resources on Earth.
Finally, it is incumbent upon us to consider that the lunar environment is both
fragile and special; we must protect and preserve it even as we explore it. The
Moon, as our closest ‘natural space station,’ is the ideal place for humanity
to develop the capability to journey to Mars and beyond. The Moon is only three
days travelling time from Earth, compared with a minimum six months for Mars,
and the communications delay is only one and a half seconds instead of tens of
minutes. The development of transportation, life support and habitation
systems, and advanced robots, can all be attempted in a challenging environment
on the Moon, before they are used farther away. Human explorers will also use
the Moon to develop their skills and learn how to prepare their bodies and
minds for the long journey ahead. The Moon has a strong place in the culture of
many peoples and it instinctively appeals to the human imagination. It is the
only celestial body that is familiar to all humanity as a ‘place’ and not just
a point of light. It is a place, moreover, that many more humans can aspire to
visit in the future. Just as the first lunar landings nearly 40 years ago
enthralled an earlier generation, lunar exploration in the years to come will
continue to inspire enthusiasm and creativity among future generations around
the world. Compared with the early days of lunar exploration, the more
sophisticated media of today will create novel means to relate the space
exploration journey to all people. Anyone may be able to participate personally
in lunar robotic and human missions through virtual-presence technologies. In
particular, children can be involved and will be inspired to become the
explorers of the future – as scientists, engineers, teachers and entrepreneurs.
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