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New Lunar Race: Moon Water Fuels Ambitions
4 Apr
Summary
- A new lunar race is underway with the US aiming for a 2028 moon landing.
- Frozen water at the poles could provide air, rocket fuel, and drinking water.
- Lunar ice cores may reveal 4.5 billion years of solar system history.
A new space race to the Moon is unfolding, with the United States aiming to land humans by 2028, two years ahead of China's projected timeline. This contemporary lunar pursuit is driven by different motivations than the Apollo missions of the past.
The key lies in the discovery of water at the Moon's poles, frozen within permanently shadowed craters. This water ice presents significant opportunities for future lunar exploration and habitation.
Scientists are particularly interested in harnessing this resource. The water molecules can be split into hydrogen and oxygen. The oxygen could provide breathable air for astronauts, while hydrogen and oxygen together could serve as crucial rocket propellants, enabling further space missions.
Beyond practical applications, the water and other chemicals trapped in these shadowed regions hold scientific value. Drilling cores from the crater floors could unlock a 4.5-billion-year-old record of the solar system's history, akin to how Earth's ice cores reveal past climate data.
