JOURNEY TO THE MOON

The Moon, the only natural satellite of the Earth, was formed, according to the generally accepted theory, by the accumulation of particles released when a celestial body the size of Mars collided with the Earth approximately 4.5 billion years ago.

The distance between the Moon, the largest and brightest celestial body we see in the night sky, and the Earth is approximately 384,400 km. This is approximately equal to the distance light travels in one second. The Moon, the closest celestial body to the Earth, also holds the title of being the only celestial body to which the most spacecraft have been sent and the only celestial body outside the Earth where humans have set foot.

Since the beginning of the space race in the 1950s, many spacecraft have been developed to reach the Moon. However, interest in Moon missions decreased in the 1980s and 1990s. In recent years, the Moon has become a popular target for space exploration again. We may witness the construction of permanent living spaces on the Moon's surface in the near future. In this article, we will introduce the important spacecraft sent to the Moon so far and explain the upcoming Moon projects. We will also provide some basic information about our natural satellite, the Moon.

The Russian Luna 2 spacecraft was the first spacecraft to touch the Moon's surface. The spacecraft, which did not have a propulsion system, was deliberately crashed into the Moon's surface on September 13, 1959. Thanks to the measurements obtained by Luna 2, which had a magnetometer and micrometeor detector, it was understood that the Moon did not have a significant magnetic field and a radiation belt similar to the Van Allen Radiation Belts on Earth.

Luna 3, also belonging to the Russians, was a spacecraft designed to take photographs of the side of the Moon that is not visible from Earth. Luna 3 took the first photographs of the back side of the Moon on October 7, 1959, when it was 63,500 km away from the Moon.

Luna 9 was the first spacecraft to soft-land on the Moon and to land on a celestial body other than Earth. Luna 9 successfully landed on the Moon's surface on February 3, 1966 and sent data from the Moon to Earth for three days. Luna 9 became the first spacecraft to send back photographs from the Moon's surface.

United States of America (USA)

The first US project to soft-land on the Moon was the Surveyor program. The Surveyor 1 spacecraft achieved a soft landing on the Moon on June 2, 1966, four months after the success of Luna 9. Five of the seven missions conducted between 1966 and 1968 successfully reached the Moon's surface.

First Manned Trip to the Moon: Apollo Project

The purpose of the Apollo project was to send humans to the Moon. The total cost of the project, which began in 1961 and ended in 1972, was $28 billion. This amount corresponds to $280 billion today. A total of 11 missions were carried out within the scope of the project.

The first four flights were conducted to test the necessary equipment and systems. Six of the remaining seven missions - Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17 - reached the Moon. The total number of people who reached the Moon was 24, of which 12 landed on the Moon's surface.

The first manned Moon mission, Apollo 7, was carried out in 1968. The first manned Moon landing was carried out with the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. The last manned space mission to reach the Moon was Apollo 17 in 1972.

Apollo 11 was the first space mission to successfully carry humans to the Moon's surface. On July 20, 1969, two astronauts reached the Moon's surface for the first time. Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the Moon's surface. Dust and rock samples collected from the Moon's surface during the mission were brought back to Earth. As a result of the mission, three new minerals were discovered on the Moon's surface. One of these minerals was named Armalcolite, after the names of the Apollo 11 astronauts. In addition, a seismograph device placed on the Moon's surface during the mission was used to examine whether the Moon was a tectonically active celestial body.

China

China became the third country to make a soft landing on the Moon with the Chang'e 3 spacecraft that landed on the Moon on December 14, 2013. During the mission, Chang'e 3 carried the rover named Yutu. Yutu continues to actively serve on the Moon's surface. The project's goal is to examine the Moon's surface features, the composition of dust particles and rocks on the Moon's surface, and the structure of the Moon's crust to a depth of several hundred meters.

China's Chang'e 4 became the first spacecraft to successfully land on the far side of the Moon on January 3, 2019. Chang'e 4 also carried a rover named Yutu-2. The main goals of the project are to examine the chemical composition of dust particles and rocks on the Moon's surface, to measure changes in the Moon's surface temperature, and to conduct astronomical observations from the Moon's surface with the radio telescope it carries, and to examine cosmic radiation and solar activity.

China's Chang'e 5 spacecraft, which is a lunar sample return project, landed on the lunar surface on December 1, 2020, and managed to bring 1.7 kg of lunar soil back to Earth on December 16, 2020. Thus, China became the third country to bring samples back from the Moon. The other two countries are the United States and Russia.

India

The Chandrayaan-1 orbiter belonging to India was placed in orbit around the Moon on November 8, 2008 and served for 10 months. On November 14, 2008, the probe it carried was intentionally crashed into the Moon's surface. The project aims to obtain 3D and high-resolution maps of the Moon's surface, map the distribution of chemical elements on the Moon's surface, and investigate whether there is solid water under the surface.

Water was discovered on the Moon for the first time in 2008 thanks to the Lunar Mineralogy Mapper device developed by NASA and located on Chandrayaan-1. The water, which is crystallized and trapped in minerals, is located in the craters in the polar regions of the Moon that do not receive sunlight. This discovery was confirmed by observations and measurements made in the following years.

The landing module named Vikram on the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft made a soft landing attempt on the Moon on September 6, 2019, but it failed.

Chandrayaan-3 made a soft landing near the south pole of the Moon on August 23, 2023. Thus, Chandrayaan-3 became the first spacecraft to land on the south pole of the Moon, and India became the fourth country to make a soft landing on the Moon. The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft carries a landing module called Vikram and a small rover called Pragyan. With the successful soft landing on the surface of the Moon, the goals of testing the rover and conducting scientific experiments on the surface of the Moon will also be achieved.

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Upcoming Moon Missions Artemis Project

NASA's Artemis project aims to return humans to the Moon and establish permanent living spaces on the Moon's surface. In this way, experience can be gained for future human journeys planned to be made deep into the Solar System.

The first phase of the Artemis project, the Artemis I mission, was successfully completed between November 16, 2022 and December 11, 2022. During the mission, the Orion capsule and SLS rocket that will carry astronauts to the Moon were successfully tested. The Orion capsule completed two orbits around the Moon and successfully returned to Earth on December 11, 2022.

Artemis II, III and Beyond

During the second phase of the project, the Artemis II mission, the crew of four will return to Earth after orbiting the Moon. The Artemis II mission is targeted to be completed in 2025.

The Artemis III mission is planned to send humans to the Moon for the first time since 1972 and for a woman to set foot on the Moon for the first time. During the mission, astronauts will land on the Moon's south pole. Previous studies have determined that there is solid water in the craters on the Moon's south pole, which do not receive any sunlight. The reason why the permanent bases planned to be established on the Moon within the scope of the Artemis project are being built in the Moon's south pole region is to meet the water and fuel needs from here.

The subsequent Artemis missions plan to establish a space station around the Moon and to build permanent living spaces on the Moon's surface.