Why do humans want to explore the moon?

The moon is the closest natural celestial body to the earth. It has a unique spatial position and abundant resources. It is the first choice for human beings to conduct space exploration and resource development and utilization. In 1959, the Soviet Union's probe flew over the moon for the first time. At the end of 2020, my country's Chang'e 5 successfully returned lunar samples, which was also the most recent lunar exploration activity of mankind.

Over the past 60 years, the world has carried out a total of 118 lunar exploration missions, 66 of which were successful. Dozens of countries and commercial organizations are now actively preparing to launch lunar probes in the coming years.

Simulation of the Chang'e 5 probe

Moon exploration is technically difficult and expensive, so why are countries so keen on it? This is because moon exploration has great scientific, economic and political significance.

Promote scientific and technological development and drive industrial upgrading

Lunar exploration is an important way to conduct space science research and provides a broad platform for basic scientific research. By exploring the lunar space and surface environment, topography and geological structure, we can promote the innovative development of lunar science, astronomy, earth science and comparative planetary science, and bring great help to human cognition of the objective world.

The moon has almost no atmosphere and geological activity, and its rocks are less damaged. Exploring the moon can help us understand the early information of the Earth, help people understand the history of the origin and evolution of life, the Earth, the solar system and even the entire universe, study the relationship between space phenomena and the Earth's natural system, and further explore the position and significance of human beings in the universe.

Over the past few decades, through manned and unmanned lunar exploration, humans have obtained a large number of lunar rock and soil samples. These samples record important information about matter and energy in the solar system, helping scientists to gain a deeper understanding of the properties of the lunar surface, the origin of the moon, and the evolution of the solar system.

The moon is also an ideal place for astronomical observation. The lunar surface is characterized by ultra-high vacuum, high cleanliness, no magnetic field, and low gravity. In particular, the far side of the moon, due to the tidal effect, always faces away from the earth, isolating the pollution of the earth's electromagnetic radiation. After my country's Chang'e-4 landed on the far side of the moon, it carried out the first low-frequency radio astronomical observations by humans there, which is of great value for studying the characteristics of the dark period of the universe, solar physics, and space weather.

In addition to these direct scientific results, the more significant value of lunar exploration activities lies in promoting scientific and technological development and driving industrial upgrading.

Lunar exploration requires sending the probe out of the Earth's atmosphere, across an ultra-long distance of 380,000 kilometers to reach the vicinity of the Moon, operating in the harsh space environment, maintaining communication connections and precise control, and then transmitting the exploration data back to Earth. This is an extremely difficult undertaking and an unprecedentedly complex project, requiring the development of high-thrust rockets, advanced payloads, ground measurement and control, and other space system facilities, as well as the mastery of many key technologies. This process will lead to major breakthroughs in the fields of energy, power, materials, computers, precision instruments, communications and navigation.

The application and secondary development of these new technologies, new processes and new materials in military and civilian fields can promote the development of basic science and applied technology, and ultimately drive the upgrading of industrial structure, achieve an overall improvement in social productivity, and ultimately benefit all mankind.

A treasure trove of resources for the future

In the new round of lunar exploration, the development and utilization of lunar resources has become the focus of attention of all countries. The moon contains rich clean energy, mineral resources, and special environmental resources, all of which are of great value to the future survival and development of mankind.

The moon has no atmosphere, and as the solar wind continues to blow over the lunar surface, a large amount of helium-3 is absorbed into the porous lunar soil. This is a safe, clean, and efficient nuclear fusion fuel that is non-toxic and non-radioactive, and is hailed as the "perfect energy" by the scientific community. Chang'e-1 has found that the reserves of helium-3 on the moon exceed 1 million tons, which can be used to generate electricity to meet the energy needs of the Earth for 10,000 years.

The moon is rich in mineral resources, with more than 100 known minerals, five of which are not found on Earth. It has been found that the moon is rich in titanium, iron, uranium, thorium, rare earth, sodium, potassium, nickel, chromium, manganese and other minerals. The lunar mare basalt alone contains at least 100 trillion tons of recoverable titanium metal, which has broad prospects for development and utilization.

A large amount of water ice has been found on the moon, and this discovery is of great significance. With the current human carrying capacity, it costs tens of thousands of dollars to send 1 kilogram of water to low-Earth orbit, and it is even more expensive to send it to the moon. If the water resources on the moon can be developed, it can solve the major problems of future lunar base construction and astronaut survival. In addition, water can be decomposed into hydrogen and oxygen, which are the fuels needed for spacecraft flight.

The moon has a small gravity, so manned spacecraft or space probes only need a small thrust to enter space. Humans can fly from the moon to Mars and deep space with much less resources and energy. In the future, as human scientific and technological capabilities improve, astronomical observation bases, scientific experiment bases, and biological products and new materials research bases will be built on the moon. Spacecraft will be repaired and resupplied here, and the moon will become a frontier base for human exploration of the vast universe.

In the "State of the Space Industrial Base in 2021", the United States proposed that the core of the vision for the future development of the space industry is to incorporate the moon into the economic field of the earth and establish a "cis-moon economy". The competition for lunar resources will become increasingly fierce. With the rapid advancement of aerospace technology, the development of lunar resources is no longer a distant dream.

The struggle for status is also a struggle for the right to survive and develop

Lunar exploration has never been a simple scientific research activity. It reflects the display and competition of comprehensive national strength based on economic and technological strength. During the period of the US-Soviet hegemony, the Soviet Union fully demonstrated its scientific and technological capabilities and national strength by launching the first artificial satellite, the first manned space flight, and the first lunar exploration, which caused the people of Western countries to fall into great panic and loss, and forced the United States into a corner. It was not until the United States fought a desperate battle and took the lead in achieving manned lunar landing that the decline was completely reversed.

Lunar exploration is a highly risky project with a large scale, complex system and high integration. It is a concentrated display of high-precision technology, strong capital, united struggle and national will, and reflects the spirit of a country and a nation. my country's lunar exploration project has won five battles and five victories. Each success has greatly inspired the pride, self-confidence and cohesion of the whole nation, and each time has greatly inspired and boosted the national spirit. It is a powerful display of confidence in the path, theory, system and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and demonstrates the strong vitality and broad development prospects of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Exploring the moon is not only a struggle for status, but also a struggle for the future survival and development space of the country and nation.

As the competition in space becomes increasingly fierce, countries around the world are trying to seize and maintain their own space interests in various ways. In 1984, the United Nations adopted the Moon Agreement, which stipulates that the moon and its natural resources are the common property of mankind, and that all countries are free to explore and use the moon on an equal basis.

However, a country can only obtain this ticket by conducting lunar exploration and having the technical strength. This is essentially "first come, first served". On December 31, 2020, the United States passed the "One Small Step to Protect Human Heritage in Space Act", requiring that space activities initiated from US territory must not destroy the remains and sites of the US Apollo program on the moon. The bill also seeks to become an international agreement, requiring other countries to abide by this US law.

The United States actually claims territory on the moon in this way. Perhaps one day in the future, the door to planetary exploration will no longer be open to all countries for various reasons, just like nuclear weapons. Therefore, we must seize the current window of opportunity, occupy a favorable position, and seize the initiative for the country's future.