The last crewed mission to the Moon was Apollo 17, taking place in December 1972.
Inputs that matter: DefenseNews reports, "India plans to spend about $3 billion on space-related contract awards over the next few years to reduce its dependence on foreign satellites and bolster its counter-space capabilities."
- The reason for India's move into space is "space situational awareness."
- China is "developing the counter-space capabilities to threaten U.S. and allied satellites and developing sophisticated launch capabilities that are moving much more toward reusable launch vehicles."
- SpaceNews reports, "The European Space Agency, impressed with India's growing space capabilities, is exploring opportunities for enhanced cooperation in space activities."
The opportunity: The New York Times reports, "The United States and China are locked in a new race, in space and on Earth, over a fundamental resource: time itself. And the United States is losing."
- "Global positioning satellites serve as clocks in the sky, and their signals have become fundamental to the global economy."
- "But those services are increasingly vulnerable as space is rapidly militarized and satellite signals are attacked on Earth."
- "Russia, China, India and the United States have tested anti satellite missiles, and several major world powers have developed technology meant to disrupt signals in space."
Zoom in: Aljazeera reports, "Japan was successful in making an exact moon landing just meters from its target."
- The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency [JAXA] hopes to learn more about the moon's possible water resources through "vision-based navigation."
- SpaceNews explains, "India is planning up to 30 launches over a 15-months period, indicating the ambition for a significant rise in both civil and commercial launch activities."
Between the lines: The Independent reports, "Elon Musk has revealed the goals for the next Starship mission following another successful test of the world's biggest rocket."
- Elon Musk says the "Goal of this mission is for Starship to get through max reentry heating with all systems functioning."
- SpaceX also has a multi-billion dollar contract with NASA to provide Starship rockets for the U.S. space agency's Artemis program, which aims to return people to the Moon within the next few years.
- Beyond that, Musk plans to use a fleet of Starships to ferry crew and cargo across the Solar System to set up a permanent human colony on Mars.
Follow the money: The New York Times warns, "If the world were to lose its connection to those satellites, the economic losses would amount to billions of dollars a day."
- Companies have proposed options, but few products have come to market.
- "Satelles, working with the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology in Colorado, has developed an alternative source for time using satellites that were already orbiting about 485 miles above Earth."
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Read More
- https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/why-did-we-stop-going-moon
- https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/28/world/asia/as-threats-in-space-mount-us-lags-in-protecting-key-services.html
- https://www.defensenews.com/space/2024/03/06/india-plans-to-spend-3-billion-on-space-can-it-catch-up-to-china/
- https://spacenews.com/esa-and-isro-explore-increased-cooperation/
- https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/25/japan-moon-sniper-makes-successful-pinpoint-landing-space-agency-says
- https://spacenews.com/india-targets-a-surge-in-civil-and-commercial-launches/
- https://www.independent.co.uk/space/starship-launch-date-mission-musk-b2519938.html