![]() ![]() ![]() However, the US has said its Artemis program will use Orion spaceship and the space-launch system to carry astronauts to cislunar space. We hope the moon can be an outpost of human beings in the future, and help scientists travel deeper into the solar system. Since the gravity on the moon is only one-sixth of that on Earth, propellant produced on the lunar surface will be much cheaper than that brought from the Earth. There are also long-duration sunlight areas near the "south pole", and scientists say human beings can set up permanent bases there, which will transform the exploration of the moon to exploitation of the moon. In regions near the "south pole" of the moon, scientists expect to find a large amount of water ice in permanent shadow areas. And scientists are hopeful that on-site resource utilization technologies will help reduce the cost of lunar exploration, as the available water on the moon will not only sustain astronauts' life it can also be used to produce propellant. Due to such explorations, water has been found in permanent shadow areas of the moon. Nowadays, countries capable of space exploration pay more attention to efficiency. Unlike the moon race in during the Cold War days, this time the purpose of lunar explorations is to achieve scientific and engineering goals. ![]() Apart from the US, countries like Japan, European states, China and India have sent probes to the Moon. The second tide of lunar explorations began in the 1990s. So the US cancelled its Apollo program, and for more than half a century, no astronaut has landed on the moon. Since the lunar explorations by the Soviet Union and the US were politics-driven, they were not sustainable. While the first moon flyby, the first impact, the first soft landing and the first orbiter of the moon were achieved by the Soviet Union, the US became the first country to land man on the lunar surface, which in a way ended the "moon race". In those days, however, lunar missions were driven by politics, because the Soviet Union and the United States tried to achieve "the first" in every sphere of selenology. The exploration of the moon started in the 1950s. If we want to know the history of Earth, together with the history of our solar system, studying the moon is essential. It is also the nearest celestial body to our planet, and selenology, or the study of the moon, is very important for scientists, as it can give them insights into other celestial bodies and advance planetary science. The moon is the only natural satellite of Earth. ![]()
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