China and India successfully landed on the moon, while Russia, Japan, and Israel failed in their attempts and ended up unsuccessful.

Currently, two private businesses are working energetically to reinstate the United States’ involvement in the space race, over 50 years since the conclusion of the Apollo program.

This is a project supported by NASA to initiate commercial transportation to the moon, while the agency prioritizes returning astronauts to the moon.

According to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, the individuals are explorers who will reach the moon before us.

Astrobotic Technology, based in Pittsburgh, will be the first to launch a lander on Monday using United Launch Alliance’s new Vulcan rocket. Intuitive Machines, located in Houston, plans to launch their lander in mid-February with the help of SpaceX.

Japan is planning to land in two weeks. The Japanese Space Agency’s lander, along with two small rovers, was launched in September and also brought along an X-ray telescope that was left in Earth’s orbit.

If Japan is successful, they will be the fifth country to achieve a moon landing. This feat has been previously accomplished by Russia and the U.S. multiple times in the 1960s and 70s. China has also successfully landed on the moon three times in the last ten years, including on the far side, and plans to return for lunar samples later this year. In addition, India achieved a moon landing last summer. It should be noted that the U.S. is the only country to have put astronauts on the moon.

Touching down without causing damage is a challenging task. The lack of atmosphere makes it difficult for a spacecraft to decelerate, and traditional parachutes are not a viable option. This requires the use of thrusters to safely descend, all while avoiding hazardous cliffs and craters.

The company owned by a millionaire from Japan, ispace, experienced their lander crashing into the moon in April, followed by Russia’s failed landing in August. India successfully landed near the south pole a few days later on their second attempt, after a previous crash in 2019. In 2019, an Israeli nonprofit also collided with the moon.

The United States has not made a successful landing on the moon since Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt of Apollo 17 explored its gray and dusty surface in December 1972. NASA shifted its focus to Mars and left the moon behind, as the competition between the U.S. and Soviet Union in space came to an end. The U.S. did send a few lunar satellites, but no controlled landers, until recently.

Both Astrobotic and Intuitive Machines are attempting to break America’s streak of not landing on the moon by competing for the title of being the first private organization to successfully and delicately land on the moon.

Intuitive Machines, despite starting later, has a quicker and more direct trajectory, and is expected to land within a week of launching. On the other hand, Astrobotic will take two weeks to reach the moon and an additional month in lunar orbit before attempting a landing on Feb. 23.

Both companies could end up being the first to arrive if there are any delays in the rocket launches, which have already caused setbacks for both missions.

Astrobotic’s CEO John Thornton promised that it will be an exciting and unpredictable journey.

Steve Altemus, the equivalent at Intuitive Machines, stated that the competition in space is primarily driven by geopolitics and the direction that China and the rest of the world are heading in. However, he also mentioned that they would be thrilled to be the first to achieve their goals.

Since being awarded around $80 million each in 2019 as part of a NASA initiative to create lunar transportation services, the two businesses have been in direct competition. Currently, NASA has contracts with fourteen different companies.

The Astrobotic lander, called Peregrine, stands at 6 feet tall with four legs, and is named after the swift bird falcon. It will transport 20 research packages to the moon for seven countries, including five for NASA and a small rover for Carnegie Mellon University. Peregrine’s destination is Sinus Viscositatis, also known as the Bay of Stickiness, which was named after the ancient silica magma that created the nearby Gruithuisen Domes.

Intuitive Machines plans to land their Nova-C lander, which stands at 14 feet tall and has six legs, in the south polar region of the moon. The lander will also carry five NASA experiments, which will be active for approximately two weeks. The company is aiming for a touchdown at 80 degrees south latitude, which is comparable to a location in Antarctica on Earth. This is 10 degrees closer to the pole than where India landed last summer, according to Altemus.

Researchers think that the dark craters on the southern end of the moon contain a significant amount of frozen water, estimated to be in the billions of pounds (or kilograms). This water could potentially serve as a source of drinking water and fuel for rockets. As a result, the initial astronauts in NASA’s Artemis mission, named after the Greek goddess Apollo’s twin sister, will touch down at these locations. Although NASA has scheduled the launch for 2025, the General Accountability Office anticipates it will occur closer to 2027.

Astrobotic’s second flight will take it to the southern pole, where it will transport NASA’s Viper rover in search of water. Intuitive Machines will also revisit the location during its second mission, this time with an ice drill for NASA.

It is especially difficult to land near the south pole of the moon.

According to Altemus, the terrain at the southern pole is extremely rough and uneven, with numerous craters and mountains. This makes it challenging to locate a suitable landing site with enough lighting for a safe touchdown. Therefore, precision and skill are required to successfully land in the designated area.

Although Houston has a well-established connection to space, Pittsburgh is a recent addition. In honor of the Steel City, Astrobotic’s lander will transport a token from Kennywood amusement park, which won a public vote over other contenders such as the Terrible Towel waved by the Steelers at football games, dirt from Moon Township’s Moon Park, and a Heinz pickle pin.

The spacecraft is also transporting the remains or genetic material of 70 individuals, such as the creator of “Star Trek” Gene Roddenberry and author of science fiction Arthur C. Clarke. An additional 265 people will be honored on the rocket’s upper stage, which will orbit the sun after separating from the spacecraft. This group includes three of the original actors from “Star Trek” and small samples of hair from three former U.S. presidents: George Washington, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy.

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The Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group provides support to the Associated Press Health and Science Department. The AP is fully responsible for all of its content.

Source: wral.com