Two American private companies backed by NASA are in league to conduct commercial landings on the Moon soon after more than five decades of the Apollo program. The measure comes after successful moon landings by India and China while Russia, Japan and Israel failed in their attempts. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said, “Those scouts are going to the moon before us.”
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The American company, Astrobotic Technology of Pittsburgh, is going to launch the lander aboard the rocket, the first launch of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan, which will take place on January 8. Another US company, Houston-based Intuitive Machines, is planning a launch with SpaceX. In mid-February.
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The Japanese Space Agency’s lander, which took off in September, will attempt to land on the moon in two weeks. It carries two toy-sized rovers with X-ray telescopes that have been orbiting the Earth since then. With a successful landing, Japan will become the fifth country in the world to land on the Moon. Russia and the US made successful landings in the 1960s and 70s, while China has landed three times in the last ten years, including on the far side of the moon, and is planning another attempt later this year. India made a successful landing in 2023 but America is the only country to have sent astronauts to the Moon.
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If successful, Japan would become the fifth country to land on the Moon. Russia and the US did this repeatedly in the 1960s and 70s. China has landed three times in the past decade – including on the far side of the moon – and is returning to the far side later this year to bring back lunar samples. And just last summer, India did it. Only America has sent astronauts to the Moon.
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Last year, a Japanese space lander crashed on the moon in April and a Russian lander crashed in August. India’s Chandrayaan 2 successfully landed on the Moon in August after its first attempt in 2019 failed. Israel’s attempt to land on the lunar surface in 2019 resulted in an accident.
Astrobotic and Intuitive Machines competed for the right to be the first private entity to land on the Moon. Intuitive machines should land within a week of lift-off because it has a faster and more direct shot despite the late start. Astrobotic will take one month in lunar orbit and two weeks to land on the Moon. Astrobotic will attempt its landing on February 23.
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John Thornton, chief executive of Astrobotic, said, “It’s going to be a wild, wild ride.” AP, Steve Altemus of Intuitive Machines said the space race is “more about geopolitics, where is China going, where is the rest of the world going.” “We would definitely like to be the first,” he said.
(with input from AP)
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Published: 05 January 2024, 07:20 am IST
