Half a century after the Apollo program, which managed to put the first human on the Moon in 1969, the American Space Administration that achieved such a feat (NASA) wants to invoke its sister, Artemis (and goddess of the Moon in Greek mythology) to return to step on our natural satellite. Of course, this time in a much more ambitious way, since this colonization aims to be, in addition to being permanent, a bridge for the arrival to the next frontier of space exploration: Mars.
Why haven’t we returned to the Moon? Such a technological feat requires great effort; not only scientific, but especially economical. At the beginning of the 21st century, 2020 was the temporary border that humanity had imposed to set foot on our moon again and in 2009 the Constellation program was designed, by which it was intended to achieve, in a period of no less than ten years, a triple Objective: to develop the next generation of shuttles, capsules and spacesuits, colonize the Moon in 2020 to do science, exploit its resources and learn to survive on another planet; and the finishing touch: send crews to Mars. However, the Constellation program was eventually canceled because it was not financially tight.
What changes Artemis from Constellation? A differentiating element is at stake: the construction of a Space Station on the Moon, whose name will be Gateway . While Constellation planned the colonization of the Moon by ferries – which were called Ares -, Artemis intends a progressive colonization in successive years, with a first flight in 2021 until 2024, which will be the time when a new man and the first woman to step on the moon. Then, at the end of the decade, the goal of the mission is to establish a durable colony on the Moon and guide the first astronauts in history to Mars.
But not everything in Artemis is new. The Orion capsule, which will transport the first astronauts to the Gateway Space Station, was already planned in the Constellation program, with a manufacturing price of about eight billion dollars. What will be released is NASA’s powerful rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS), which will send astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft into lunar orbit.
What will we do on the moon?
While colonizing Mars remains the main intention of the entire program, the Artemis I mission aims, first, to study the entire surface of the Moon with human and robotic explorers. In addition, for the first time, astronauts will step on an unexplored area of the Moon: its south pole.
And while there are more than enough scientific reasons to explore, humans who land on the moon will essentially learn to live and operate on the surface of our satellite, in order to create the basis for the first long-lasting colonies. It is necessary to know what technologies are necessary on the Moon, before considering taking humans to Mars, as an important bridge before the great human exploration mission to the red planet. A manned mission to Mars could involve years of comings and goings from Earth to the Moon , to prepare the necessary technology for such a feat.
And how much will all this cost? For the first mission, called Artemis I, the Trump administration is willing to donate $ 1.6 billion. It will be enough? For now, the Artemis program continues, and there are no signs that it will be canceled, as happened with the Constellation.
The Apollo generation, which made history in the second half of the 20th century, is now giving way to the Artemis generation, with the men and women of the 21st century paving the way for the next step in human exploration of the universe. Poetic and exciting, without a doubt.
