America’s Return to the Moon Should be Planned Carefully [OPINION]

This summer marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission that landed the first humans on the moon, and how fitting is it that America is now revisiting the idea of manned-lunar exploration after forty-seven years, according to Astronomy. After receiving approval from President Trump earlier this year, NASA has devised a plan called Moon to Mars that will aim to send a manned mission to the moon by 2024. This endeavor will undoubtedly be challenging, but with major technological improvements since the Apollo missions, space exploration is emerging as an increasingly feasible project. While logistical complexities litter the proposal with uncertainties, America should prioritize the funding of space exploration projects such as NASA’s Moon to Mars plan and work as a nation to implement the projects in practical installments to avoid hasty work while protecting from dissipation over time.  

The Moon to Mars plan consists of a series of projects ranging from smaller module launches to major projects such as the Gateway, which would help facilitate resource distribution to bases on the lunar surface, according to NASA. These projects aim at expanding America’s space exploration footprint on a global scale as international competition elicits a pressure to understand the universe quickly and effectively. This might seem greedy in motivation, but the action items initiated from these pressures allows for an exciting new trajectory for our understanding of the universe. By 2024, NASA wants to reach the moon’s southern pole at first in short increments of time and eventually establish a longer-term station. The Gateway would be a private rocket scheduled to launch in 2022 that will act as a catalyst between the lunar station and the Earth and will provide refueling, service and facility depots, according to NASA. Astronauts would be transported to and from the station via the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft, according to NASA. But just how many mini-projects would this master plan include? That estimate remains uncertain, but with developments already underway, the question of why determines the national scale of influence.  

Many who are in opposition to funding space exploration are distracted by the proposed time frame posing logistical challenges. Putting people on the moon after a 47-year absence in only a five-year span is indeed a lofty goal. Many see this as a waste of money when we’ve already been to the moon. But that was in 1972 and, while much research has been done in the meantime for space exploration, our technology has evolved to be fully capable of leading successful breakthrough missions to advance our understanding of STEM. There is still a wide variety of scientific advances that can be made from lunar exploration that will help to improve the way we function and understand as a species. Funding space exploration allows for improvements in the technology used to carry instruments, resources and life through long-term space travel while minimizing materials through less complex designs. Sending manned missions to the moon allows for deeper analysis of the human body in space, geological development and composition of the moon and other astronomical bodies in the solar system, renewable energy resources and robotics technology. Having a base station on the lunar surface will also allow for a clearer image of the universe free of Earth’s atmosphere that prohibits many grounded observatories from collecting organic data. From the moon, the goal would be to develop technology that can be used to travel further; the next stop being Mars. Others are concerned about the militarization of space on the lunar surface in light of Trump’s proposed Space force, but NASA officials assure that they have no plans to militarize the moon, according to Science Friday.  

The projected timeline and feasibility concerns are perhaps the most daunting force of opposition. With a current budget of $19.9 billion covering everything from research missions to staff hours, NASA has recruited nine private spaceflight organizations to provide alternative sources of funding for the industry through national partnerships, according to NASA. Joint funds will lower the financial footprint of the project by dispersing it over a variety of sources. Perhaps international cooperation would further heighten the efficiency and effectivity of space exploration. In order for this project to be implemented successfully, however, the plan must remain flexible to allow budget adjustments and modifications to technological projects. Proposing a timeline is a tricky aspect of the Moon to Mars design in the sense that it would need to be done quickly, but not too quick as to risk incompletion, but also not too spread out that any actionable plans could be diluted with changing political terms.  

Since 1972, there have been a number of attempts to get Americans back on the moon including the Constellation programme under President Obama and the space shuttle program under President Bush Jr, but none have been successfully approved or implemented under their respective administrations, according to Phys.org. This is because the trickle down from one presidential term to the next is often followed by reprioritization of funding, and in many cases, space exploration has not yet met the mark. But if NASA’s Moon to Mars plan is solidified at least within the next several years, then perhaps it will become increasingly difficult to dismantle it under future administrations. This would allow long-term research to be done without rushing to beat international or political pressures and risking sloppy research. A flexible timeline could be vital to the practicality of the project in the sense that it could protect from changing sociopolitical variables over time.  

The future of space exploration is reaching a new dawn as an actionable interest has ignited globally. NASA’s Moon to Mars project to gradually begin sending humans and technology further and further into space and onto moons and planets is only the beginning of major advancements in almost every area of STEM. In order to implement it successfully, NASA and its partners cooperate to allow a flexible yet solid plan to get Americans to the moon and further. Space exploration is not only a national feat but one we can all benefit from as a species. While having national goals is a good initial point, international collaborations- perhaps on the lunar surface- will allow for a more cohesive understanding of the universe which is something we can all benefit from.  

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Headline: NASA’s Moon to Mars project should return America back to the moon 

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