Artemis and Apollo: Why returning to the moon is so difficult

Artemis-2 landed safely back on earth. But for days there has been a discussion about why all this is necessary and why test flights worth billions are taking place in order to return to where people were already almost 60 years ago – and with the computing power of today’s pocket calculator. Because it weighs 32 kilos Apollo Guidance Computer had a RAM of just two kilobytes.

You have to know that the first Moon landing was a high-risk operation. The NASA estimated the chance of survival Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to 20 to 40 percent. That’s why US President Richard Nixon already a finished speech with which the failure of Apollo-11 would have been announced.

For comparison: This Space Shuttle reached 98.5 percent (two total losses in 135 starts) and Artemis should be even higher.

Apollo also landed in the relatively flat equatorial region. Artemis, on the other hand, is supposed to South Pole lead, which is a wild crater landscape.

Artemis: Hitting a football field from 400,000 kilometers away

While Armstrong did his landing site missed by six kilometers using hand control without consequences, Artemis has to reach a target about the size of Vienna after 400,000 kilometers Praterstadions meet. Otherwise, the lander, for which there is no emergency system, will fall over during landing or at least no longer be able to start.

Since many records and plans were destroyed, the NASA start from zero. While the Apollo program cost almost 200 billion based on today’s purchasing power, Artemis is only expected to use around half that despite the explosion in costs.

This time the flight was split up. A possibility that was ruled out in the 60s because it was too complex. This time NASA is flying the astronauts with this Orionspacecraft into lunar orbit. There they should transfer to a lander, initially into the Starship von SpaceX, later in the New Glenn von Blue Origin.

But the billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are both seriously behind schedule. The landers are too big and too heavy, which is why the engines are too weak.

While Apollo’s Eagle weighed around 25 tons, the Starship is said to have weighed up to 200 tons. It is still unclear whether this monster will ever make it to the moon. All of this makes the situation riskier again.

Actually, the Starship should have been there two years ago Space tourists to fly to the moon for an orbit. But now the landing date is approaching Chinas (planned for 2029) is getting closer and closer, which is why the moon landing is now scheduled to take place in 2028 without the Starship ever being near the moon.

Time is also running out because the Starship in Earth orbit first has to be refueled in a complicated manner with a dozen supply flights. This maneuver alone takes almost seven months, but there is still time for test flights USA simply no more time.

Donald Trump launched the Artemis program in 2019

In any case, compromises had to be made with Apollo. The program, started in 1961, culminated in the moon landing in 1969. President Donald Trump On the other hand, 2019 started with Artemis, but it will take longer until the “summit victory” this time.

China is relying on the model of the Apollo program. Test flights are planned for the next two and a half years, probably even including an unmanned test landing. For this purpose, two probes will be sent to landing sites and Water ice seek.

With the current Artemis mission, 31 people were in the vicinity of the moon, twelve of them walked on the surface and one even played a round of golf. While back then it was all about prestige, this time economic interests are in the foreground.

Above all raw materials such as helium-3, which is hardly found on earth, but for them Kernfusion is needed are in focus. In addition Rare earths, but also gold or titanium.

22 flights to the moon are planned over the next five years. In addition to China and the USA, countries like Japan, Russia or India as well as four private companies and Europe (ESA) unmanned landings. To this end, two permanently manned lunar stations are to be built by the USA and China and completed in the next decade.

For the companies involved it is more of a side effect, but the scientific part is much more important and could one day save humanity from extinction. Because craters of apocalyptic can occur in the moon rocks Asteroids be examined.

The same applies to the information stored in the moon rocks Solar windsbecause that Eruptions the sun could make all technical devices on earth functional in one fell swoop. Humanity would be back in the Middle Ages.

The moon or its exploration could be important for the well-being of all people. As Neil Armstrong said when he landed: “One small step for me. One giant leap for humanity.”