Discover – June 2019

52 DISCOVERMAGAZINE.COM

Invigorated by a renewed fascination

with space exploration, as well as the

emergence of billionaire-backed private

spaceflight companies, humans are once

again shooting for the moon.

Cutting-edge crew capsules, powerful

rockets and the world’s first moon-orbiting

space station could launch a new push

to explore — and eventually inhabit — the

lunar surface. So buckle up: The next

decade is sure to be a wild ride. D

And this time, to stay.

BY JAKE PARKS ILLUSTRATION BY ROEN KELLY

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Luna: The Soviets abandoned

their moon dreams after the

Luna 24 mission in 1976. But

now, Russia has planned at

least five uncrewed missions.

The first, Luna 25, could land

near the moon’s south pole in

2021 to prospect for minerals,

water and other resources that

cosmonauts would need for a

moon base.

Chang’e: China’s Chang’e 4 mission made

the first landing on the moon’s far side in

January. Future missions will collect and

return lunar samples, explore the poles for

resources that could be mined and prep for

a Chinese crew of “taikonauts” sometime

in the 2030s.

Orion capsule: Astronauts need a reliable

vehicle to commute from Earth to the upcoming

lunar Gateway space station. That’s where

the Orion crew capsule comes in. Developed

by Lockheed Martin, NASA and the European

Space Agency, the spacecraft could ferry up to

six astronauts to lunar orbit by the early 2020s.

Crew Dragon: SpaceX’s Dragon cargo

capsule already delivers supplies to the

International Space Station. But starting this

summer, a crewed version of the capsule will

start carrying humans as well. SpaceX is also

finalizing modifications to let Dragon carry up

to seven astronauts (or tourists) even farther,

into lunar orbit.

T O T H E MOON AND BACK