Produced by: Tarun Mishra Designed by: Manoj Kumar
Alongside India's Chandrayaan-3 of ISRO, Russia, Japan and US recently launched their own Moon-landing spacecrafts, signifying a global resurgence in lunar exploration. The US and China are also engaged in a race to land astronauts on the Moon's south pole by 2030. Meanwhile Elon Musk is helping NASA in the Artemis III program in building the space capsule which would fly astronauts to the lunar surface.
The renewed interest in lunar exploration is driven by the potential resources present on the Moon. Notably, water, helium-3, and rare earth metals have captured the attention of space agencies and billionaires around the world due to their potential applications.
India's Chandrayaan-1 mission made a significant discovery of water on the Moon's surface in 2008. This discovery, particularly at the lunar poles, holds promise for sustaining human life and serving as a source of rocket fuel.
Helium-3, a rare isotope abundant on the Moon, holds potential for nuclear energy in fusion reactors. Its utilization could offer a cleaner energy source without producing hazardous waste.
The Moon also hosts rare earth metals essential for advanced technologies. Research suggests the presence of metals like scandium and yttrium, sparking interest in their extraction and utilization.
In October 2009, NASA's LCROSS mission crashed a booster rocket into the Moon at high speed, followed by a spectrometer-equipped spacecraft to study the debris plume. Chemicals detected included carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, ammonia, sodium, hydrogen, and traces of gold, silver, and mercury. Despite confirming the presence of gold beneath the lunar surface, accurately measuring its quantity remains challenging due to its underground location and the limited sample size.
The prospect of lunar mining presents numerous challenges, including establishing infrastructure and navigating legal frameworks. The Outer Space Treaty of 1966 prohibits sovereignty claims over celestial bodies, but gaps exist regarding private entity claims and lunar mining regulations.
Blue Origin has set sight on a 2025 launch for its inaugural lunar lander, as revealed by John Couluris, the company's senior vice president of lunar permanence, during an interview on CBS new show "60 Minutes".
This global interest in lunar exploration underscores the potential benefits and challenges associated with harnessing resources from Earth's only natural satellite.