It might get a bit crowded at the moon’s south pole, as both NASA and China aim to land their future lunar missions at the same landing sites, hoping to snag some of the limited resources of this region
NASA recently announced 13 candidate landing regions near the south pole of the Moon for the next Mission Artemis 3 which aims to land a man and a woman on the Moon by the end of 2025. Artemis 3 has its sights set on the South Pole of the Moon, an area particularly valuable as may contain ice water in their shadow areas. Water on the Moon could be an important resource for future space exploration as it could be used to make rocket fuel, increasing the Moon’s potential to become a gateway to more distant destinations like Mars
Of course, NASA isn’t the only one looking to tap into the South Pole’s resources. In a paper published by the Journal of Deep Space Exploration in China, a group of researchers led by Chang’e4 lunar mission commander Zhang He has identified 10 potential landing points near the South Pole. Unfortunately, there is some overlap, with both NASA and Chinese researchers targeting sites near Shackleton, Haworth and Nobile craters as possible landing zones, Space News first reported. China’s next mission to the moon, however, does not include astronauts. Instead, Chang’e 7 will include a rover to explore water ice that may be trapped at the moon’s south pole. The mission is scheduled for a 2024 launch date.
Finding the right place to land on the Moon’s south pole is tricky, as it has areas covered in darkness and others bathed in light. This lighttodark ratio varies over distances as small as a few miles, and spacecraft ideally want to land in lighted areas for thermal control, but also want to be close enough to shadowy regions where water can be trapped . So the options are limited for both NASA and the Chinese Space Agency.
The fact that the United States and China are at opposite ends of the race to the Moon with competing space programs makes this lunar parking situation even more awkward. Both countries aim to build lunar bases at the Moon’s south pole sometime in the 2030s, with no signs of potential cooperation between them. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson criticized China’s approach to space, saying the country was secretive and not open to cooperation on a interview with NB.C which was broadcast on August 28. A day later, Chinese media criticized NASA’s lunar program after the The launch of the Artemis 1 mission was delayed.
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Both countries are working to narrow the list of possible landing spots as the launch date for lunar missions approaches, but it’s unclear what will happen if they end up in the same area of the South Pole.
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