One more step for the constellation of lunar satellites. The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced its support for the Moonlight project where a consortium of companies and private institutions will launch a constellation of satellites to create a permanent communication link around our satellite, the Moon.
Dozens of international, institutional and commercial teams are sending missions to the Moon that anticipate a permanent lunar presence. Many of these initiatives come from major space institutions in China, India, Japan and Russia, along with other nations with space technology, as well as private entities around the world. All this will make trips to the Earth’s natural satellite become regular instead of one-off expeditions.
In fact, the current roadmap for the human return to the Moon has as its first stop the Artemis program, an international collaboration spearheaded by NASA, which will see humans return to the lunar surface later this decade. ESA will provide essential components for these missions, including the communication module for the new space station around the Moon, the Lunar Gateway, as well as a communication relay such as the Lunar Pathfinder.
How would this lunar GPS work?
The European Space Agency proposes a precise navigation system on the Moon, much like the satellite navigation technology we have here on Earth. It would allow spacecraft and astronauts to know exactly where they are when they move around the Moon and to land accurately. And it would also incorporate a telecommunications function.
Radio astronomers could establish observatories on the opposite side of the Moon. The rovers could glide across the lunar surface more quickly. It could even allow the control and management of rovers and other equipment from Earth.
Future missions would be simpler and less loaded, leaving more space to include a greater number of scientific instruments or any other necessary material, making each mission, individually, much more profitable.
“An enduring link to the Moon enables sustainable space exploration for all of our international partners, including commercial space companies. By using an ESA-backed telecommunications and navigation service for the Moon, explorers will be able to navigate seamlessly and transmit back to Earth all the knowledge gained from these lunar missions , ”commented Elodie Viau, Director of Telecommunications and Integrated Applications, at a release.
The two consortia with ESA for the Moon
They are Surrey Satellite, Technology Limited, which includes satellite manufacturer Airbus; satellite network providers SES, based in Luxembourg, and Kongsberg Satellite Services, based in Norway; the Goonhilly earth station in the United Kingdom; and the British satellite navigation company GMV-NSL.
The second consortium is led by Telespazio, in collaboration with: the satellite manufacturer Thales Alenia Space; UK-based satellite operator Inmarsat; the Canadian space technology company MDA; the Telespazio subsidiary in Germany and OHB Systems; the Spanish satellite operator Hispasat; and the Italian Aerospace Logistics Technology Engineering Company (ALTEC), the aerospace engineering company Argotec, Nanoracks Europe, the Politecnico Milano and the Università commerciale Luigi Bocconi.
The contracts were signed on behalf of ESA by Elodie Viau, Director of Telecommunications and Integrated Applications.
Is it all good news?
Not everyone welcomes this initiative. Filling the space around the Moon with satellites could interfere with all scientific projects that require the sky to remain as dark and “clean” as possible. It is a problem that we are already dealing with on Earth, without going any further with the constellations of satellites that do not stop “adorning” our night sky today.
