Japan launched an H-IIA rocket towards the Moon on Thursday September 7, a new Japanese mission aimed at bringing the country into the very exclusive club of space powers. This mission comes as India managed last August to land its Chandrayaan-3 probe near the South Pole of the Earth’s satellite, a great first for an Asian country.
India’s stated objective is scientific. Measurements around the moon landing site were planned, according to ISRO, which mentions analyzes of the “seismicity“, of the “mineralogical composition of the lunar surface“or even his”thermal properties“. The mission hopes in particular to find water ice there, which would have important implications for a potential human colony on the Moon. The objectives were also technological, with India wishing “demonstrate a safe and smooth landing on the lunar surface“. The mission has come to an end after two weeks of activity. However, ISRO hopes to be able to reconnect with its probe on September 22, the latter being plunged into the lunar night.
Russia also attempted to land its Luna-25 probe near the South Pole, but without success. It had been almost half a century since this country had last seen the Moon after the success of the Luna-24 mission in 1976, under Leonid Brezhnev. Alas, the great space power has not managed to revive its old successes.
The Japanese mission aims to place, within four to six months, still on lunar soil, a small module called SLIM (Smart Lander for Investigating the Moon) and nicknamed “Moon Sniper”. He will carry out analyzes of the composition of the rocks of the lunar mantle, which is still poorly understood. This mission comes after the launch of the XRISM space telescope, in collaboration with NASA and the European Space Agency.
We walked on the moon
All this excitement around the Moon can recall the heyday of the United States’ Apollo and Soviet Luna missions. In an interview published by Science & FutureFrédéric Moynier, professor of cosmochemistry at Paris Cité University and researcher at the Paris Institute of Globe Physics, returns to this newfound enthusiasm for our satellite in general, and its South Pole in particular.
“To be able to leave humans on the Moon for several months, or even more, it will be necessary to exploit lunar resources. And particularly water. But scientists know that it exists at the South Pole, in the form of ice.“, he explains. The South Pole being partly plunged into eternal night, there is permanent ice in certain craters. A source of water of prime importance. Scientists are also targeting the South Pole- Aitken, rich in information, since it is a place of impact which stirred up a lot of material from the lunar mantle. So many elements which push space powers to reconnect with the Moon and others to want to reach it.