People raise their hands after the Smart Lander for Lunar Survey (SLIM) landed on the moon during a public viewing event in Sagamihara, south of Tokyo, on January 20, 2024.Photo: Kim Kyung-hoon/Reuters
TOKYO (AP) — Japan landed a spacecraft on the moon Saturday, marking the world’s first “pinpoint lunar landing” attempt. This milestone brings Japan into a club previously occupied only by the United States, the Soviet Union, India and China.
Numerous countries and companies are also planning moon missions. Success means international scientific and diplomatic acclaim and the potential for domestic political gain. Failure is very costly and can mean public embarrassment.
Here’s a look at recent and upcoming efforts that are gaining attention and what they mean.
US
NASA plans to send astronauts to orbit the moon next year and land on the moon in 2026.
But just this week, US company Astrobotic Technologies announced that its lunar lander had failed in its launch to the moon and would soon burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.
The lander, named Peregrine, suffered a fuel leak, forcing Astrobotic to abandon America’s first attempt to land on the moon in more than 50 years. The company believes that a stuck valve caused the tank to burst.
While the U.S. government seeks to return astronauts to the moon, NASA is working to commercialize deliveries to the moon by private companies.
For now, the U.S.’s ability to spend billions and develop supply chains gives it an advantage over China and other lunar rivals. Private companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin have made human space missions a top priority.
Another American company, Intuitive Machines, also plans to launch its own lunar lander next month.
India
Last year, India became the first country to land a probe near the moon’s south pole. Scientists believe the permanently darkened crater may contain frozen water that could be useful for future missions.
In 2019, an Indian lander crashed during a lunar descent due to a software glitch. So August’s $75 million success brought widespread jubilation, with people cheering in the streets and proclaiming India’s emergence as a scientific powerhouse.
read more: How Indian spacecraft’s discovery of sulfur in lunar soil could pave the way for future lunar bases
Indian scientists say the next step is a manned mission to the moon.
The success is seen as key to boosting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity ahead of this year’s crucial general elections.
India has been pursuing a space program since the 1960s, and aims to visit the International Space Station next year in cooperation with the United States.
New Delhi also sees space victories as important in its competition with nuclear-armed neighbor China. Relations between India and China have deteriorated since deadly border clashes in 2020.
China
China landed on the moon in 2013 and launched a three-person crew to an orbiting space station last year. The company hopes to land astronauts on the moon by the end of the 2010s.
In 2020, a Chinese capsule returned to Earth from the Moon carrying fresh moon rock samples for the first time in more than 40 years. China conducted its first manned space mission in 2003, becoming the third country to conduct a manned spaceflight after the Soviet Union and the United States.
China’s space ambitions are tied to its conflict with the United States, as the world’s two largest economies compete for diplomatic, political and military influence in Asia and beyond.
China built its own space station after being excluded from the International Space Station, due in part to U.S. opposition to China’s space program and close ties to the military.
China and the United States are also considering plans to establish permanent manned bases on the moon. This raises questions about competition and cooperation on the moon.
Russia
Also last year, Russia’s Luna 25 failed in its attempt to land on the same area of the moon that India reached.
Forty-seven years after the Soviet Union landed on the moon, Russian scientists blamed the failure on the long hiatus and the resulting loss of space expertise.
read more: Failure of Russia’s moon exploration plan raises questions about the current state of the space program
The Soviet Union launched its first satellite into space in 1957 and sent the first human into space in 1961, but since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, widespread corruption and Western sanctions have negatively affected scientific development. In the midst of this, Russia’s plans have struggled.
Russia is planning another moon mission in 2027.
Russia’s failures and the growing role of private companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX have cost Russia a once-huge niche in the lucrative global space launch market.
Just as India’s successes were seen as evidence of its rise to great power status, Russia’s failures have been portrayed by some as calling into question its global influence and strength. Ta.
Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report.