Why is NASA now deciding to return to the moon's surface?

Weather of Arabia - Man took his first steps on the surface of the moon in 1969 on the "Apollo 11" flight, and a total of 12 astronauts walked on the surface of the moon during the Apollo flights, and after about half a century since man reached the surface of the moon, the US space agency NASA returns this year In a new attempt to launch the first mission within its "Artemis" program to return to the moon, however, the question arises, why does NASA return to accomplish a mission that it had previously completed?!

Criticism of the US Space Agency (NASA) has escalated in this regard in recent years, including what was launched by the Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins, who blamed NASA for not setting bigger goals such as going directly to Mars. However, the US space agency considers that going to the moon is necessary before any mission to the red planet, and we will discuss in the following lines its most prominent reasons.

NASA's reasons behind launching the Artemis mission to the moon

NASA wants, through its return to the moon, to establish a permanent human presence on it, while sending missions that will remain for several weeks on its surface, while the previous “Apollo” mission lasted only a few days. Through this goal, NASA seeks to gain a clearer understanding of how to prepare for launching a mission to Mars that will last for several years.

In the outermost planets, space radiation is more intense and poses a great threat to human health. The low orbit where the International Space Station operates is partially protected by the Earth's magnetic field, while there is no magnetic field in the case of the Moon. Starting with the first "Artemis" mission, several experiments are expected to study the effect of this radiation on living organisms and evaluate the effectiveness of anti-radiation jackets.

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Catering and other things

While it is possible to resupply the International Space Station, trips to the moon (a thousand times farther from the station) are more complicated in this respect.

In order to avoid the need to transport everything necessary during the missions, and reduce costs subsequently, NASA wants to learn how to use the resources already on the surface of the moon, the most important of which is water in the form of ice, which has been confirmed to be in the south pole of the moon, and can be converted into fuel (water is formed of oxygen and hydrogen used by rockets as fuel).

equipment testing

NASA also wants to conduct tests on the moon regarding the technologies that will allow it to go to Mars, the most important of which are new spacesuits intended for flights outside vehicles. The company, “Axiom Space”, has been tasked with designing the suits that will be allocated for the first mission to land on the moon, which is expected in 2025 at the earliest.

Other equipment that NASA needs to test include vehicles (pressurized or unpressurized) that allow astronauts to move around, in addition to housing.

With the goal of an ever-available energy source, NASA is developing portable nuclear fission systems.

Build a station around the moon and a launch pad to Mars

Solving any problem facing astronauts will be much easier on the moon, which takes days to reach, than on Mars, which takes several months to reach its surface.

Among other goals of the "Artemis" program is the construction of a space station in lunar orbit called "Gateway", which will serve as an intermediate station before missions to Mars.

Sean Fuller, a Gateway official, explains to AFP that all the necessary equipment can be dispatched in "several launches" before the crew follows it on a long journey, noting that this step is similar to the process of stopping at the gas station and checking the health of the aircraft. All parts work.

Also read: How did the Apollo 11 flag appear to be flying in space, despite the lack of air on the moon?

Space race with China

In addition to preparing for missions to Mars, the Americans want, through the "Artemis" program, to establish a human presence on the moon before China takes this step.

While the competition over the space race was heated between the United States and Russia in the sixties of the last century, China is currently the most prominent competitor to Washington. Beijing plans to send humans to the moon by 2030.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a television interview at the end of August, "We don't want China to go to the moon and say this is our land."

Although the Apollo mission brought 400 kilograms of lunar rocks to Earth, new samples will enhance scientific knowledge about the moon and its formation.

"The samples collected as part of the Apollo mission changed our view of the solar system," astronaut Jessica Meyer told AFP, noting that this development in scientific knowledge "will also continue with the Artemis program."

Mayer expects that the "Artemis" program will lead to tangible results on the planet (technology development, engineering developments...) similar to what happened as a result of the "Apollo" mission, due to the investments and scientific enthusiasm associated with the new missions to the moon.

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