Last week’s Nasa launch is the first in a flurry of successors to the Apollo programme, reopening the debate on the value of sending humans into space
So it is ironic that the anniversary of the Apollo 17 landing will coincide with a mission that is intended to herald the return of human beings to the moon – albeit half a century later. Launched last week,blasted an un-crewed Orion capsule on a 25-day mission beyond the orbit of the moon. It is scheduled to return to the Earth on 11 December, the exact date, 50 years earlier, when the Apollo 17 astronauts landed on Taurus-Littrow.
Suddenly, everyone is going to the moon – though this grand return is not without controversy. Should we be placing heavy emphasis on putting humans on the moon? If so, how can we justify the heavy costs of lunar colonisation? Should we instead rely on robots to exploit its resources? And what role should private enterprise have in sending humans into space? These questions reveal major divides among scientists.include UK astronomer royal Martin Rees and US astronomer Donald Goldsmith.
Scientists like Crawford argue that building research stations such as those erected in Antarctica offer the best option for science. “These need not be occupied permanently, at least initially, but over short periods like many polar research centres. There is so much we can do on the moon but we need humans on site to maximise the scientific return. Eventually you might see these bases evolving into true colonies but that is not something that is likely to happen for perhaps a century.
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