Will there be another human walking on lunar soil? This is the goal of NASA’s mission in collaboration with the private company Astrobotic. Photo: Oleg Yakovlev. 
Karen Teixeira Meteored Brazil Dec 5, 2023 9:00 am 7 min
More than 50 years after the last Apollo mission The United States will try to land a spacecraft on the moon again! How will this happen? Will there be a crew on board? Will we witness a second human walking on the moon?
A big step for humanity!
According to NASA Director Bill Nelson, The United States is in a space race with China to return to the moon. Furthermore, he is certain: “We will get there first.” Half a century later The American space agency is recruiting private companies to compete in this race against the Chinese.
The mission is scheduled for January 25, 2024 with the Peregrine landing module! But there will be no one on board.
It could be the first private company to successfully land on the lunar surface! And the landing module was developed by the American company Astrobotic, which will carry NASA instruments to study the lunar environment in preparation for NASA’s manned Artemis missions.
For several years, NASA has been contracting with American companies to send scientific and technological experiments to the moon under a program called CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services). These fixed-price contracts are intended to enable the development of a lunar economy and the provision of transportation services at lower costs.
America is going back to the moon! NASA’s Christmas Eve launch will be the first time a U.S. spacecraft has landed on the lunar surface in more than 50 years https://t.co/8R1V7tU4Me pic.twitter.com/w9QhsSNXiQ
— Chron Online (@Web) November 30, 2023
The launch is scheduled for December 24th from Florida. on board the first flight of the industrial group ULA’s new rocket called Vulcan Centaur. The probe will take “a few days” to reach lunar orbit. However, the landing attempt must take place by January 25th so that the lighting conditions at the destination are sufficient. The descent occurs autonomously, without human intervention, but is monitored from the company’s control center.
Who was the first person to walk on the moon?
The first person to walk on the moon was NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong in 1969. who traveled a long way on the space mission that brought him to the surface of the moon. On July 16, 1969, the Apollo 11 mission was launched with the Saturn V rocket. from Launch Complex 39 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Space engineer Neil Armstrong was the first person to leave his mark on the lunar surface at 3:56 a.m. (Lisbon time) on July 20, 1969. His arrival on the moon was broadcast live!
By walking on the moon, Neil uttered the now famous phrase, “One small step for man, one giant step for humanity.” Shortly thereafter, astronaut Aldrin set foot on the moon and the two explored the lunar surface for almost three hours with the goal of conducting some science experiments and taking a few photos, including of their footprints there.
Neil Armstrong’s footprint left on the moon during the 1969 Apollo 11 mission. Photo: Reproduction/NASA.
The Eagle module landed in the lunar region called the Sea of Tranquility, which is located on the far side of the Moon. Armstrong descended first and placed his left foot on the lunar surface. The Apollo 11 program significantly accelerated global interest in lunar exploration.
The last person to walk on the moon
The Apollo program was a series of lunar missions coordinated by NASA between 1961 and 1972. responsible for all human visits to the moon. In total there were 11 manned missions, six of which landed on the lunar surface.
The Apollo 17 mission, launched on December 7, 1972, had a crew of three astronauts, and after three days of travel, the astronauts began preparations for landing the Challenger lunar module on the lunar surface.
On December 14, 1972, astronaut Eugene Cernan, commander of Apollo 17, became the last person to leave a mark on the moon!
With Cernan, Harrison Schmitt traveled a total of 30 km in a lunar rover and the two stayed on the moon for 75 hours. broke the record for the longest mission to the moon. They collected 110 kg of lunar samples, which still help scientists today understand some of the moon’s geological history.
Since the end of the Apollo program, no other mission has brought more people to the moon. But NASA is working to change that through the Artemis program. NASA’s new lunar program has big ambitions, like building a human presence in a sustainable way, But in reality, the Artemis missions are a starting point for even more ambitious missions, such as the planet Mars!