Artemis II mission: Why NASA is sending humans to the Moon again after 50 years

With Artemis II, NASA is all geared up to send four astronauts to the Moon – more than 50 years after the Apollo missions made history by sending the first humans to the Moon. With six landings overall, the Moon seemed well-explored.

So, why is NASA sending another mission to the Moon all these years later?

Despite the knowledge gained from the Apollo missions, much remains to be learned from the Moon. It offers valuable insights into Earth's early history. On our planet, weather causes rapid erosion, making it rare to find ancient rocks dating back to the solar system’s formation.
In contrast, the Moon experiences very little erosion. Lunar rocks can be as old as 4.5 billion years, serving as a time capsule of the early Earth-Moon system.

"If you want to learn about early Earth, a good place to find out about it is by looking at the Moon," explains Prof Sara Russell, a planetary scientist at the Natural History Museum. She adds that because the Earth and Moon are close, events affecting the Moon likely affected Earth too. The Moon’s preserved surface can reveal details lost on Earth due to erosion.

The Apollo missions explored limited areas near the equator on the Moon’s near side. However, much less is known about the far side and polar regions, leaving many questions unanswered.

Though the Moon appears dry and barren, it contains elements similar to those on Earth. Prof Russell noted that rare earth elements, scarce on Earth, may be concentrated in parts of the Moon, making them potential mining targets. Metals like iron and titanium, and helium used in superconductors and medical equipment, are also present.

The most important resource on the Moon is water. It exists trapped in minerals and in substantial amounts at the poles, particularly in permanently shadowed craters where ice accumulates. Water is essential for sustaining human presence, providing drinking water, oxygen for breathing, and hydrogen for fuel.

Moreover, NASA aims to send humans to Mars by the 2030s but faces significant technological challenges. The Moon serves as a safer, cheaper, and more manageable environment to develop and test technologies needed for long-term space habitation.

According to a report in BBC, Libby Jackson, head of space at the Science Museum, says that a sustained lunar presence will allow testing of systems for air and water supply, power generation, habitat construction, and protection from extreme temperatures and radiation.

Trying these technologies first on Mars could be catastrophic if they fail, making the Moon an ideal proving ground.

THE MOON RACE

During the 1960s and 1970s, the Apollo missions were driven by competition with the Soviet Union. Today, China is the main competitor, having landed robots and rovers on the Moon and aiming to send humans there by 2030.

Both the US and China seek access to lunar areas rich in resources, making the location of lunar bases strategically important. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty prohibits ownership of the Moon, but operators can use land without interference.

Dr Helen Sharman, the first British astronaut, explains that while countries cannot own lunar land, they can operate on it indefinitely once established, the report added.

Scientists eagerly anticipate new lunar samples, which transformed understanding of the Moon’s formation. Prof Russell notes that Apollo rocks revealed the Moon formed after a Mars-sized body collided with Earth, a discovery only possible through those samples.