“So many things are going wrong right now”: Why so many people want to go to the moon and it often doesn’t work out

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For a long time, almost no one wanted to go to the moon. These periods are over, recently there has been heavy traffic on and around the earth satellite. Americans want to go out there again tonight for the first time in 52 years.

These initiatives involve significant risks; Space players have their teeth cut on the moon many times. The US company Astrobotic failed to place its “Peregrine” lander on the moon only at the beginning of January. This would be the first private landing ever. The startup still worked but then problems arose with the drive system.

Parallels between today’s lunar space travel and early Middle Ages astronomy

While in the late 1960s and early 1970s the US space agency Nasa managed to make one moon landing after another and the Soviet Union also succeeded in the maneuvers, missions are now going wrong again and again. So why is this the case today, when technology and computers are becoming much more modern?

Ulrich Walter, professor of space technology at the Technical University of Munich and former astronaut, sees parallels between today’s lunar space travel and the astronomy of the early Middle Ages. At that time, astronomy had to be started from scratch because the complex knowledge of the ancient Greeks had not been passed on.

The successful moon landing experiences of the 1960s and 1970s were also partially lost. The researchers and engineers involved at that time are now too old or dead and can no longer contribute their knowledge. “These days we are almost starting from scratch again.”

“Of course, a lot of things are going wrong right now.”

Walter also sees one reason for the many unsuccessful attempts as being that today’s lunar modules are equipped with much more software than before. This has its advantages; For example, flight maneuvers can be self-adjusted. On the other hand, software is also prone to errors. “I would estimate that about half of the failed moon landings in recent years were due to faulty software,” says Walter. He cites as examples the failed attempt by Japanese company Ispace in April and the Russian probe “Luna-25” that crashed on the moon in August.

Martin Tajmar, a space technology expert at TU Dresden, is not too surprised by the many failed attempts in recent years. “Of course, a lot of things are going wrong right now. But that was to be expected.” Landing on the moon is much more complicated than launching a satellite into orbit.

“You have to do a lot of testing.”

Tajmar knows what makes a moon landing so difficult: Lack of GPS signals to guide the craft, low gravitational force, no braking atmosphere, delayed radio signals from Earth, a rugged surface, and possible damage to the lander due to exploding lunar dust.

“You have to do a lot of testing,” Tajmar says. But it is difficult to simulate weightlessness on Earth, for example. Sometimes it’s easier to try things in real life, fail, and use the data you get to improve the process.

Former astronaut Walter says China and India in particular have benefited from the continuous development of space travel for decades. The People’s Republic made its first successful landing in 37 years in 2013, followed by two more landings. Last August, India became the fourth country in the world to land on the moon after a failed attempt.

NASA wants to send humans to the Moon again after more than 50 years

On Friday, Japan wants to become the fifth country. The SLIM (Intelligent Lander for Exploring the Moon) lander, developed by Japanese space agency Jaxa, will then test a technology for precision landings and land on the moon less than 100 meters from the intended landing site.

Japan hopes that a successful SLIM precision landing will usher in the transition from the era of “land where we can” to the era of “land where we want.” Data collected on the Moon will be used as part of the US-led Artemis program.

NASA wants to take people to the Moon again after more than 50 years with this program, but the “Artemis 3” Moon landing mission was postponed to September 2026 just last week.

“The Chinese have a very strict calendar”

Walter sees a competitive situation emerging among many countries. China, in particular, is putting pressure on NASA. “Americans cannot afford the shame of sending men to the moon after China.”

“The Chinese have a very strict timeline,” says space expert Tajmar. According to the government’s plans, the Chinese should be standing on the moon by 2030; Given the major delays in the “Artemis” program, it’s inconceivable that they’ll start cruising there any sooner than the first new U.S. moonwalkers. However, Tajmar says that Americans have SpaceX, a very successful space company. “I predict that the Americans will be the first to send humans to the moon.”

Month-specific flights

So why is the moon such a popular destination? “Right now it’s ‘Who has the biggest shovel?'” Tajmar said. “It’s a kind of sandbox game based on the slogan,” he says. However, there are currently economic incentives, especially for private companies. After all, major government space agencies want to purchase their services. Both the Peregrine mission, which failed in January, and the launch of the private lander Nova-C, scheduled for mid-February, were part of NASA’s so-called CLPS program. The goal is for private companies to offer transportation flights to the moon.

Tajmar believes that initially activities on the moon will be driven by research. This might include, for example, an observatory on the Earth-facing side. The Moon will only become economically meaningful within decades. For example, you can make money from helium-3 on the moon for fusion power plants: “That could be a big market at some point.” (SDA)

Source : Blick