The new race to the moon
XXI century: new countries and private companies enter the space race. Michael Sureda, physicist, doctor in Aerospace Engineering and professor at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, draw us the map.
UNITED STATES - POT (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)
If for Barack Obama the priority was Mars, for Donald Trump it is the Moon. Proof of this is the directive that he signed in 2017 to order NASA lead a space exploration program and send astronauts back to our satellite. The SLS rocket (Space Launch System), the most powerful and expensive ever built, and the orion ship They are your assets.
Rocket launch from Cape Canaveral in 2016
EUROPE - THIS (European Space Agency)
For the European agency, the priority is Moon Village, a permanent base on the lunar surface which will serve to support scientific missions.
The international director of lunar exploration of this organization, Bernard Foing, places settlement by 2030 with a staff of between six and ten scientists, technicians and engineers, that in 2040 could reach a hundred. With this number of workers, Foing predicts that a human could soon be born at this station. The ESA believes that it would be a necessary point to send manned missions to Mars.
CHINA - CNSA (China National Space Administration)
They are the great silent of the space race. They have a very ambitious program, but very hermetic. They have just arrived on the far side of the Moon, they have accelerated their schedule to create a large space station and are already working on their next Long March rocket.
Some even say that The next person to set foot on lunar soil will be a Chinese woman. For now, the country has signed an agreement with the Russian space authority to cooperate in the exploration of the satellite.
China has already reached the far side of the Moon
** RUSSIA - ROSCOSMOS ** (Russian Federal Space Agency)
They They were the first to put a man in space. although the United States beat them in the race to the Moon. Now, Vladimir Putin has announced that in 2019 they will launch the first of a series of missions to Mars to be able to send crew later.
They also prepare the Luna 25 satellite, which should reach its south pole, near the Boguslavsky crater. The Russian president believes that the Moon should become a shuttle to explore other points.
** JAPAN - JAXA ** (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency)
In 2021 they plan to launch an unmanned probe and they calculate that in 2030 they will be able to take their first astronaut to the Moon. Of course, it would be as part of an international mission in which they hope to be able to add a crew member if they provide technology.
** INDIA - ISRO ** (Indian Space Research Organization)
It started its space program in 1960, but it has not been until in recent years that have given it a major economic boost.
In 2014 they placed a probe in orbit around Mars, and in 2018 they planned to launch their second mission to the Moon, with Chandrayaan-2, although it has been postponed for now. They hope, now, to be able to send the first astronauts in 2022.
** ISRAEL - IAI + SPACEIL ** (Israel Aerospace Industries + SpaceIL)
Israel also wants to step on the Moon. If there is no last minute change, in February it will launch its own aircraft into space, a joint project of the state company Israel Aerospace Industries and the private initiative SpaceIL, financed by several Jewish philanthropists.
The IAI has also signed a collaboration agreement with NASA to provide them with data in exchange for technology.
Who will win the race?
PRIVATE INITIATIVES
**Elon Musk-SpaceX**
After launching a Tesla into space, Elon Musk has now introduced who will be the first tourist to visit the Moon. Its about Japanese artist Yusaku Maezawa , which in 2023 and aboard the Big Falcon Rocket will go around the satellite and return.
Meanwhile, SpaceX continues to receive NASA contracts for International Space Station supply missions, in addition to the launch of numerous satellites. Musk is the one who has put on the table – and with great success – the reuse of rockets, although his goal is still Mars.
**Jeff Bezos - Blue Origin**
With the New Shepard and the various launches of him into space, Bezos has also joined in reusing rockets. But it's with him New Glenn – Name tribute to the first American who orbited the Earth, John Glenn – with whom he wants to compete with Musk.
The also founder of Amazon has also announced that he will work with NASA and ESA to create a settlement on the Moon to “decongest” –he says– the Earth's heavy industry.
**Richard Branson-Virgin Galactic**
We will have to be vigilant because the founder of Virgin Galactic has promised exciting months to come. He says that in a matter of weeks – much earlier than expected – they will reach space and that he himself will leave Earth soon. That is why he has already received the same training that astronauts undergo.
Conquer it, the first step to reach Mars
***** _This report was published in **number 124 of Condé Nast Traveler Magazine (January)**. Subscribe to the printed edition (11 printed issues and a digital version for €24.75, by calling 902 53 55 57 or from our website). The Condé Nast Traveler January issue is available in its digital version to enjoy on your preferred device. _