Humans fly to the Moon again. NASA today sends its first crewed spacecraft to Earth's satellite in half a century — the Artemis-2 mission

Canadian specialist Jeremy Hansen, Christina Koch, Mission Commander Reid Wiseman, and Victor Glover. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images.

However, there will be no landing on the surface of Earth's satellite yet: according to the Artemis-2 expedition program, four astronauts will fly around the Moon and return to Earth in ten days, writes the BBC.

However, there will be no landing on the surface of Earth's satellite yet: according to the Artemis-2 expedition program, four astronauts will fly around the Moon and return to Earth in ten days.

A Moon landing is planned for 2028 — and then, by regularly sending expeditions to Earth's satellite, NASA plans to build a permanent base there.

On Tuesday, at the last of the daily flight briefings, NASA officials said everything was ready for it.

If the weather does not interfere — clouds or strong winds (or technical glitches) — the giant Space Launch System rocket with the Orion spacecraft will launch on April 1 at 6:24 PM local time (1:24 AM Thursday Minsk time).

If the launch attempt on Wednesday fails, NASA is ready to make new attempts — the window for this will remain open for another six days.

In the longer term, the Moon base, according to NASA's plans, should become a springboard for human flight to Mars.

American astronauts first landed on the Moon in July 1969, and last flew there in 1972.

After that, there were repeated discussions about returning to the Moon, but it was Donald Trump who, in his first presidential term, launched the program to send humans to neighboring celestial bodies.

True, the "Space Policy Directive-1" he signed in 2017 initially envisioned sending astronauts directly to Mars.

In the second term, the focus shifted to the Moon.

Last December, Trump signed an order stating that the US should return to the Moon by 2028 and build a permanent base there by 2030.

If successful, the Artemis program will add political points to the Trump administration, unite all Americans for a time in pride for their country, and also give the United States an additional advantage over China in the space race in general and in the potential struggle for the Moon's mineral resources in particular.

In the era of the first Moon flights, the US competed with the Soviet Union for space supremacy and prestige on Earth. Now their main competitor is China. Beijing plans to send taikonauts to the Moon in the coming years.

In that last Trump space decree, China was not mentioned as a rival in the Moon race, but NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman speaks openly about this competition.

"We are dealing with a real geopolitical rival challenging US leadership in space," Isaacman said on March 24. "This time, our goal is not flags and footprints on the surface. This time, our goal is to stay. America will never give up the Moon again."

"Lunar Fever"

The beginning of the Moon's exploration could also lead to enormous economic benefits in the long term.

This was stated, in particular, by former NASA head Sean O'Keefe in an interview with the BBC.

"For years we thought it was just a chunk of dust, and then we found out there was a significant amount of helium-3 there," he said, explaining that this isotope of helium could eventually become a thermonuclear fuel in future reactors, compact and long-lasting.

In addition, the Moon contains rare metals such as lithium, platinum, and others, which are needed in the production of Earth's electronics. Currently, China dominates the market for these metals, which greatly concerns the Trump administration.

The value of all these lunar mineral resources is currently unknown, but it could be a truly colossal sum. Helium-3, which is very scarce in Earth's atmosphere, currently costs about $20 million per kilogram.

Clayton Swope, a former intelligence officer in the CIA's Directorate of Science and Technology and now an analyst at the American Center for Strategic and International Studies, says one of the goals of the Artemis program is precisely to find out more precisely what the Moon can offer.

"We can't put a dollar price tag on the Moon yet, but there's no escaping the rivalry and competition with China here," he told the BBC.

A Sense of Pride and Unity

Donald Trump's generation witnessed Neil Armstrong take his first step on the lunar surface in July 1969. This historic moment was forever imprinted in their collective consciousness.

At the same time, there was political disunity within the country, in the United States. American soldiers were dying in an unpopular war in Vietnam. The civil rights struggle was in full swing. The memory of the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy in 1968 was still very fresh. And in the White House sat Richard Nixon, a president whose attitude divided American society.

And despite all this, 125 to 150 million Americans — up to three-quarters of the country's population — watched the broadcast of the Apollo 11 crew landing on the Moon as one and were all together proud of their country.

Now the USA is again divided, again at war — and, as some believe, it is precisely the flight to the Moon that can again give Americans the opportunity to feel like a united and proud nation.

"Space is one of the few areas where Americans of different political orientations can look at achievements and rejoice together," says space expert Esther Brimmer from the Council on Foreign Relations. "Most Americans see a reason for pride in their space program; its social impact is such that it generally unites people."

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