{"id":34213,"date":"2023-09-04T14:04:47","date_gmt":"2023-09-04T14:04:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/why-are-countries-trying-to-land-on-the-moon"},"modified":"2023-09-04T15:09:44","modified_gmt":"2023-09-04T15:09:44","slug":"why-are-countries-trying-to-land-on-the-moon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/why-are-countries-trying-to-land-on-the-moon","title":{"rendered":"Why are countries trying to land on the Moon?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Mauritius. <\/strong><\/span>India made history as the first country to land near the south pole of the Moon with its Chandrayaan-3 lander on Aug. 23, 2023.<\/b><\/p>\n

This also makes it the first country to land on the Moon since China in 2020. India is one of several countries \u2014 including the U. S. with its Artemis program \u2014 endeavouring to land on the Moon.<\/p>\n

The south pole of the Moon is of particular interest, as its surface, marked by craters, trenches and pockets of ancient ice, hasn\u2019t been visited until now.<\/p>\n

International affairs expert Mariel Borowitz talks to The Conversation about this Moon landing\u2019s implications for both science and the global community.<\/p>\n

Countries are interested in going to the Moon because it can inspire people, test the limits of human technical capabilities and allow us to discover more about our solar system.<\/p>\n

The Moon has a historical and cultural significance that really seems to resonate with people \u2013 anyone in the world can look up at the night sky, see the Moon and understand how amazing it is that a spacecraft built by humans is roaming around the surface.<\/p>\n

The Moon also presents a unique opportunity to engage in both international cooperation and competition in a peaceful, but highly visible, way. The fact that so many nations \u2013 the United States, Russia, China, India, Israel \u2013 and even commercial entities are interested in landing on the Moon means that there are many opportunities to forge new partnerships.<\/p>\n

These partnerships can allow nations to do more in space by pooling resources, and they encourage more peaceful cooperation here on Earth by connecting individual researchers and organizations.<\/p>\n

There are some people who also believe that exploration of the Moon can provide economic benefits. In the near term, this might include the emergence of startup companies working on space technology and contributing to these missions.<\/p>\n

India has seen a surge in space startups recently. Eventually, the Moon may provide economic benefits based on the natural resources that can be found there, such as water, helium-3 and rare Earth elements.<\/p>\n

Are we seeing new global interest in space?<\/b><\/p>\n

Over the last few decades, we\u2019ve seen a significant increase in the number of nations involved in space activity. This is very apparent when it comes to satellites that collect imagery or data about the Earth, for example.<\/p>\n

More than 60 nations have been involved in these types of satellite missions. Now we\u2019re seeing this trend expand to space exploration, and particularly the Moon.<\/p>\n

In some ways, the interest in the Moon is driven by similar goals as in the first space race in the 1960s \u2013 demonstrating technological capabilities and inspiring young people and the general public.<\/p>\n

However, this time it\u2019s not just two superpowers competing in a race. Now we have many participants, and while there is still a competitive element, there is also an opportunity for cooperation and forging new international partnerships to explore space.<\/p>\n

Also, with all these new actors and the technical advances of the last 60 years, there is the potential to engage in more sustainable exploration. This could include building Moon bases, developing ways to use lunar resources and eventually engaging in economic activities on the Moon based on natural resources or tourism.<\/p>\n

How does India\u2019s mission compare with Moon missions in other countries?<\/b><\/p>\n

India\u2019s accomplishment is the first of its kind and very exciting, but it\u2019s worth noting that it\u2019s one of seven missions currently operating on and around the Moon.<\/p>\n

In addition to India\u2019s Chandrayaan-3 rover near the south pole, there is also South Korea\u2019s Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter, which is studying the Moon\u2019s surface to identify future landing sites; the NASA-funded CAPSTONE spacecraft, which was developed by a space startup company; and NASA\u2019s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.<\/p>\n

The CAPSTONE craft is studying the stability of a unique orbit around the Moon, and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is collecting data about the Moon and mapping sites for future missions.<\/p>\n

Also, while India\u2019s Chandrayaan-2 rover crashed, the accompanying orbiter is still operational. China\u2019s Chang\u2019e-4 and Chang\u2019e-5 landers are still operating on the Moon as well. Other nations and commercial entities are working to join in.<\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s Luna-25 mission crashed into the Moon three days before the Chandrayaan-3 landed, but the fact that Russia developed the rover and got so close is still a significant achievement. The same could be said for the lunar lander built by the private Japanese space company ispace. The lander crashed into the Moon in April 2023.<\/p>\n

Why choose to explore the south pole of the Moon?<\/b><\/p>\n

The south pole of the Moon is the area where nations are focused for future exploration. All of NASA\u2019s 13 candidate landing locations for the Artemis program are located near the south pole.<\/p>\n

This area offers the greatest potential to find water ice, which could be used to support astronauts and to make rocket fuel. It also has peaks that are in constant or near-constant sunlight, which creates excellent opportunities for generating power to support lunar activities.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Mauritius<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Mauritius. India made history as the first country to land near the south pole of the Moon with its Chandrayaan-3 lander on Aug. 23, 2023. This also makes it the first country to land on the Moon since China in 2020. India is one of several countries \u2014 including the U. S. with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":34212,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,9],"tags":[233,245,364,241],"class_list":["post-34213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-miscellaneous","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-mauritius","tag-india","tag-mauritius"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy are countries trying to land on the Moon? - Mauritius<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"India made history as the first country to land near the south pole of the Moon with its Chandrayaan-3 lander on Aug. ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/why-are-countries-trying-to-land-on-the-moon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why are countries trying to land on the Moon?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"India made history as the first country to land near the south pole of the Moon with its Chandrayaan-3 lander on Aug. ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/why-are-countries-trying-to-land-on-the-moon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mauritius\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-09-04T14:04:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-09-04T15:09:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/sites\/61\/2023\/09\/sm_1693827513.13595.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/why-are-countries-trying-to-land-on-the-moon#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/why-are-countries-trying-to-land-on-the-moon\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Why are countries trying to land on the Moon?\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-09-04T14:04:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-04T15:09:44+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/why-are-countries-trying-to-land-on-the-moon\"},\"wordCount\":863,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/why-are-countries-trying-to-land-on-the-moon#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/sites\/61\/2023\/09\/sm_1693827513.13595.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Mauritius\",\"India\",\"Mauritius\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"miscellaneous\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/why-are-countries-trying-to-land-on-the-moon#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/why-are-countries-trying-to-land-on-the-moon\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/why-are-countries-trying-to-land-on-the-moon\",\"name\":\"Why are countries trying to land on the Moon? 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