Why are humans rushing back to exploring the Moon within this decade again?

Why are humans rushing back to exploring the Moon within this decade again?

  Back in 2017, NASA announced the launch of the Artemis Program, an initiative to send humans to the Moon's surface, paving the way for long-term settlements beyond Earth in the near future. One key aspect of this plan is the construction of the Lunar Gateway, a new space station that will orbit the Moon. The program has significant international collaboration, with key partners like the European Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

  In a similar vein, four years later, both China and Russia announced the establishment of their own lunar research program, the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), which closely resembles the Artemis Program. Thailand became a part of this initiative in April 2024, marking the Moon as once again a major focus of international technological development, a revival not seen in five decades since the end of the Apollo Program.

  One key reason for the renewed interest in lunar exploration is the discovery of vast amounts of ice at the Moon’s south pole, found by India’s Chandrayaan-1 orbiter. This ice has been buried in the shadowed craters, untouched by sunlight for billions of years. Ice is a crucial resource for space exploration, as modern technology can separate water molecules into liquid oxygen and hydrogen, which can be used as spacecraft fuel. This eliminates the need for costly fuel transport from Earth. Additionally, this ice can be melted and filtered to provide astronauts with drinking water—similar to discovering gold beyond Earth.

  According to NASA’s Artemis plan, they aim to send humans to the Moon’s south pole by 2028 to collect lunar ice samples and test whether it can be used as hypothesized. Meanwhile, China will send an unmanned Chang’e 7 mission in 2026 to collect samples, with another orbiter monitoring space conditions between Earth and the Moon.

  The Moon also holds rare resources such as titanium, which is highly valuable due to its strength, light weight, and resistance to extreme conditions, making it ideal for aerospace and electronic applications. NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has reported that lunar rocks contain ten times more titanium than Earth's rocks. Other essential materials for producing concrete and construction materials are also found on the Moon.

  However, current technology for mining and processing lunar resources still faces many challenges, particularly the extreme environment on the Moon. The Moon has low gravity, no breathable atmosphere, and is exposed to harmful radiation. Therefore, the development of autonomous drilling systems that don't rely on human control is critical.

  If this technology is successfully developed, establishing research bases on the Moon will no longer be out of reach. Such lunar outposts will serve as key sites for testing and demonstrating deep-space technologies in the future, aligned with the long-term goals of the Artemis and ILRS programs, which aim to have a continuous human presence on the Moon, similar to the International Space Station’s role in Earth's orbit today.

  Thailand is also part of this renewed interest in lunar exploration through the Thai Space Consortium (TSC), which plans to send an unmanned spacecraft to orbit the Moon by 2027 for detailed mapping and observations, much like Thailand’s Earth observation satellites such as THEOS-2, operated by the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA).

  Thailand's lunar exploration program is expected to develop the country’s technological capabilities and human resources in space technology, with broad impacts and spinoff value across industries like food and construction. The knowledge gained will also advance technologies that can aid future human exploration of the Moon.