Reaching the moon is as much about being competitive among the world’s peer adversaries as it is about exploration. In the 1960s, the United States and the Soviet Union were in a fierce race to get to the lunar body first. NASA and the Apollo missions won that race and demonstrated with six successful manned landings on the lunar surface that it was possible to work there and return safely to Earth.
The first missions to the moon were inspired by a Cold War drive for global influence and status as well as scientific exploration. The need for a lunar presence is different now and in many ways more crucial. It's more than just planting the Stars and Stripes. Previous trips have provided an abundance of mineral resources and frozen water that would propel exploration of deeper space. Sean Duffy, secretary of transportation and acting NASA administrator, told Fox News, “The Moon is a big place. There are very specific areas of the Moon that are critical, and whoever gets there first gets to plant their flag … Speed is of the essence.” Launching missions from the moon with its lower gravity would make sending rockets into space, and specifically to Mars, less costly.
In areas of the lunar body where sunlight is minimal, there is ice that can be converted into drinking water or separated into oxygen and hydrogen to be used for rocket fuel. At one-sixth the gravity of Earth, the moon presents a unique location for testing critical technologies required for any mission to Mars. However, getting there and building a base may not be the biggest challenges.
Workers Will Need Power
Once the lunar base infrastructure is in place, how will it be powered? Solar panels aren't particularly effective since the most desirable areas are in the sun’s shadow and lunar nighttime is 14 days. Extended stays on the surface also require the ability to survive extreme temperature variations. According to NASA’s lunar surface data, temperatures can reach 260°F in the direct sunlight and drop to -280°F in shadows and at the poles. In permanently shadowed craters where water ice would be found, the temperature could be as low as -400°F. A more reliable energy source is vital.
At a press conference titled “Unleashing American Drone Dominance,” Duffy was questioned about plans for installing a small nuclear reactor there: “We’re in a race to the Moon, in a race with China to the Moon. And to have a base on the Moon, we need energy.” To that end, “US space agency NASA will fast-track plans to build a nuclear reactor on the Moon by 2030, according to US media,” the BBC reported. This is the centerpiece of a plan Secretary Duffy recently outlined in two memos, striving for "a renewable and stable power source to support long-term exploration,” explained Fox News.
Artemis is NASA’s core program for building a sustainable, long-term agenda, and the first stepping stones follow the Apollo model. Artemis II will have astronauts travel to and circle the moon. “Their mission will be to confirm all of the spacecraft’s systems operate as designed with crew aboard in the actual environment of deep space,” NASA said in its “Mission Overview.” This is scheduled for early 2026.
About a year later, Artemis III will be the first manned landing on the moon since 1972. “NASA has its sights set on locations around the South Pole for the Artemis era of human lunar exploration,” NASA said. With the United States back on the moon, great opportunities will open. However, Americans have to get there first.
The views expressed are those of the author and not of any other affiliate.
