Going Back To The Moon

The next few years will see an explosion of lunar explorers. But what will they be looking for when they get there?

- Dr Ezzy Pearson

DESTINATION

384,400km FROM EARTH

THE MOON

For almost 40 years, our nearest cosmic neighbour, the Moon, was left alone as we looked elsewhere in the Solar System. That changed in 2013 when China’s Change 3 lander touched down on the lunar surface. Since then there’s been an explosion of interest in the Moon. NASA, China, and even private companies are racing back to it, with dozens of robotic and human missions being planned. Things are set to get a lot more crowded on the lunar surface over the coming decade, but this time, we’ll be staying.“We know the Moon has potential resources that will be useful for space exploration,” says Ian Crawford, a professor in planetary science from Birkbeck, University of London. “Particularly water ice trapped in the very dark shadows of craters at the poles.”

Unlike Earth, the Moon’s axis isn’t tilted at a large angle, so the Sun is constantly overhead when you’re at the lunar equator. If you’re at the lunar poles however, the Sun’s always on the horizon, creating long, permanent shadows in the surrounding craters. Hidden from the Sun for billions of years, temperatures in those craters are low enough that water ice has been able to survive in them and it’s this that’s captured everyone’s interest.

THE KEY TO GOING FURTHER