The hope for the colonization of Mars rests on the premise that we can terraform the Red Planet to make it habitable for humans, with a normal atmosphere and acceptable temperatures. But one of the latest studies questioned this idea and concluded that terraforming is not possible using existing technologies.
And if we pause the colonization of Mars, it's time to rethink the relationship that we have developed with our closest space neighbor: the Moon. The first to successfully land on the surface of a natural satellite of the Earth was the Russian spacecraft "Luna-9" in 1966. This mission unveiled the barren lunar landscape for the first time.
Since the beginning of the space age, more than 60 successful missions have been sent to the moon, including eight manned missions. The most famous was the Apollo 11 mission in July 1969, which brought the first man to the lunar surface.
Why Mars and not the Moon?
These pioneers of space have expanded our understanding of the Earth and the universe. The 1971 Apollo 15 mission, for example, recovered the so-called "stone of creation" - one of the oldest rock specimens recovered from a crater on the moon. Analysis of other surface samples has confirmed the "giant impact hypothesis," which is now the generally accepted view of the formation of the moon during a powerful impact on the earth 4.5 billion years ago. Since then, however, our gaze has shifted from the Moon to Mars. In the 1990s, after a series of setbacks, Mars Pathfinder delivered the first rover to the surface of Mars. It was the first successful landing on Mars since the Vikings sent there in the late 1970s. The images shown by the probe fired up people's imaginations and sparked interest in new missions to the Red Planet.
Instead of mourning the near-term prospect of a manned mission to Mars today, let's look at five facts supporting the Moon.
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Transfer point in space
To overcome the attraction of gravity and reach another body in space, you need to move at a certain speed. Traveling to Mars from the Earth's surface requires a minimum speed of 13.1 kilometers per second. This requires large rockets, tons of fuel, and complex orbital maneuvers. Due to the weaker gravitational field of the moon, the same travel from the lunar surface would require a speed of only 2.9 kilometers per second. That's roughly one third of what is needed to reach the International Space Station from Earth.
The moon also possesses certain mineral resources, including valuable metals and rocket fuel ingredients, which are formed by breaking water ice (and confirmed to be present on the lunar surface) into hydrogen fuel and an oxidizer.
The mineral troilite, an iron-sulfur compound that is quite rare on Earth, is also present in the lunar crust. Sulfur from troilite can be extracted and combined with lunar soil to produce a building material that is stronger than Portland cement. This means that a lunar settlement could be built on the moon using the material at hand.
The creation of a lunar base from which missions into deep space will be sent will significantly increase the payload to fuel ratio, allowing us to explore the solar system cheaper and easier.
Energy of the future
Nuclear fusion, the very process that gives life to stars, can provide us with energy for many years to come. The fusion reactors of the future will use helium-3, a lighter version of helium that is fueled by balloons. This isotope is rare on Earth, but is found in abundance on the Moon, where it can be mined, which attracts interest from a number of businesses and governments willing to send it to Earth.
An initial burst of commercial interest could provide the incentive and finance needed for the first forays into the moon's useful deposits to establish a permanent human presence on the moon.
Age-old rocks
The moon is an inactive world. No major geological changes have occurred for three billion years. On Earth, surface details are altered by rain, tide, wind, or plant growth. The lunar landscape proudly showcases its violent past, featuring impact craters and offering a preserved solar system history ready for exploration.
Observing the Universe
The density of the atmosphere on the Moon is very low, ten trillion times lower than on Earth. The absence of an atmosphere provides ideal conditions for the location of astronomical observatories across the entire width of the electromagnetic spectrum. The radio observatory on the far side of the moon will be completely shielded from the earth's radio noise.
The low-density atmosphere also makes it possible to build ground-based X-ray or gamma-ray telescopes, unlike Earth, where shortwave light from space is blocked. Such observatories could be maintained and updated by the forces of the inhabitants of the moon much easier than an orbiting telescope.
People in space
One of the main obstacles to a mission to Mars is understanding the impact that long-term space travel has on the human body. If something unexpected happens, restocking or rescue will take over two years. By studying the impact of space on humans first on the moon and developing technology in parallel, we could be more practical about further exploration of Mars. If something happened at the Lunar Base, Earth would be only three days away.
Another serious problem associated with a trip to Mars is the unintentional pollution of the pristine Martian environment by terrestrial organisms. The moon is almost certainly barren, so there won't be such a problem.
While the first scientific studies on the Moon were carried out in the late 1960s, over the next half century we did not come close to it one iota. This is despite the growing technological capabilities that today far exceed those available in the days of Apollo. Before we're ready for another giant leap into space, maybe we should take a few small steps outside the house.
Ilya Khel
