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NORTH AMERICAN Newsline FEBRUARY 18, 2022 | The Indian Eye 30

by InvItatIon

Headed for the moon in the age

of space tourism

SADHNA SHANKER

he moon has always held a
special place in human civiliza-
Ttion. There are rituals, prayers
and beliefs associated with the cycles
of the moon across cultures. Cele-
brating the full moon is a ceremony
in many parts of the world. In 2022,
the moon is going to be in focus for
very different reasons.
The flavor of 2021 was space
tourism, this year the hot favorite is
going to be the moon. Nearly half
a century after 1969 when men first
walked on the moon, it is again the System rocket and an associated crew craft built by a Japanese firm. The planned expeditions to the
focus of attention across the globe. capsule ‘Orion’. NASA is planning to The renewed race to the moon is moon are exciting and open up im-
In 2022, many countries are headed build a lunar orbiting space station also seeing many emerging partner- mense possibilities. But they also
to the moon, and lunar exploration is called ‘Gateway’, by 2024. It will host ships and alliances. The European bring to the fore issues of ownership
going to change our future interface a shuttle which astronauts will use to Space Agency is involved and invest- of resources of outer space. The Out-
with space. touch down on the moon. The aim is ed in the Artemis project. In June er Space Treaty ratified by 111 coun-
South Korea will be launching to carry astronauts to the moon and 2021, China and Russia launched a tries, including India, was signed in
its first lunar spacecraft in summer. beyond, and reopen space to investi- joint project to build a Moonbase 1967 and bans claims of sovereignty
UAE will be launching ‘Rashid’ in gation by humans rather than robot- and space station in the lunar orbit. over heavenly bodies. Since then,
autumn. Russia, China and India ic rovers. The first step would be to What is pushing the world to- geopolitics has transformed, and
too are geared up for the moon this build an outpost on the moon, where wards the moon? The moon is likely more and more non state actors have
year. ISRO will launch the ambi- astronauts can live for months at a to be the base from which research moved into the arena of space explo-
tious Chandrayaan-3 mission in the time, and conduct research. and ability to inhabit Mars will ration. The need for rethinking and
third quarter of 2022 after work was Not just governments, but many evolve. A prime target for the first lu- reimagining ownership of space re-
delayed due to Covid-19. Two years private players too are in the arena nar outpost is near the moon’s South sources has become necessary, and
ago, Chandrayan 2 crash-landed on for launching lunar missions. NASA’s Pole – the Shackleton crater. It is be- imminent.
the far side of the Moon. While the Artemis project has already woven lieved to hold reservoirs of ice. Water The next time you see the moon
lander and the rover crashed, the or- SpaceX’s Starship into the plan for a apart from providing sustenance for shining brightly in the night sky,
biter is still hovering above the lunar human landing on the moon around astronauts, can also be exploited as imagine that soon it will be inhabited
surface and ISRO plans to use it with 2025. Starship is crucial to Elon a source of hydrogen and oxygen – by humans living and working there.
Chandrayaan-3. Musk’s plans to inhabit Mars. Spa- through electrolysis – that could be Humanity’s journey of moving to-
The most ambitious program for ceIL, an Israeli organization is also combined as rocket fuel. Further, wards other planets would then have
the moon is NASA’s Artemis project. working towards landing a probe on ‘Regolith’ the moon’s surface itself, actually begun.
Set to launch in a few months, it will the far side of the moon. The UAE’s when mixed with appropriate liquids, Sadhna Shanker is a writer based
involve the powerful Space Launch rover will be launched by a landing could turn into ‘ink’ for 3D printing! in New Delhi

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