Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: Mr. Reiter, Russia also wants to participate in the creation of a space station in lunar orbit. At a meeting in Adelaide, the head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, Igor Komarov, signed an agreement with NASA. Did this decision surprise you?
Thomas Reiter: For us, this decision by Russia did not come as a surprise. As a result of the media attention to this decision, it may seem that Russia and America will now begin to create a Deep Space Gateway. In fact, the five partners of the ISS - America, Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada - have been working very specifically on this concept for three years. Regardless of this, our extraterrestrial observation post in low Earth orbit, the ISS, will be operational at least until the middle of the next decade. What will happen to the ISS after 2024 must be decided before the end of this decade. From a scientific point of view, there will still be a need for research in space after this. As for the Deep Space Gateway, elements of the station near the Moon and its technical equipment are regularly discussed at working meetings. Naturally, Roscosmos took part in this discussion. However, Russia has not yet submitted its own proposals for this lunar station. With the agreement between Roscosmos and NASA, the Russian space agency has now created a formal basis for making concrete contributions.
— What participation will Europe take in the Deep Space Gateway?
— ESA has been constructing two service modules for the American Orion space capsule since 2012. Orion will be the spacecraft on which astronauts, and now also cosmonauts, will fly to the Deep Space Gateway and thereby to the Moon.
— And thus also European astronauts?
- Yes, this is our goal. For the European Space Agency, its participation in the work of the lunar station has a double significance. Firstly, this is our first participation in human space flights outside of low orbital flights around the Earth. Secondly, our participation in the Deep Space Gateway will offset our production costs for the ISS until 2024. Along with service modules, there are, of course, other design elements with which we could contribute to the creation of a lunar station.
© Wikipedia, NASA- And what is it?
— One option would be an engine element for a lunar station. It would be a 20 kilowatt ion engine. The second element would be a module with a communications terminal, fuel tanks, an airlock compartment for scientific payload, and a new adapter to which spacecraft could dock. A housing block is also conceivable.
Context
The brightest star in the sky belongs to Russia
ABC.es 07/27/2017America will return to the moon - and fly further
The Wall Street Journal 10/05/2017Space knows no boundaries
CBC 10/01/2017Has America been bypassed in space?
The New Yorker 10/06/2017NASA and Russia agree on cooperation
Space 28.09.2017Here ESA could use the experience with the Columbus module on the ISS. We could, if necessary, develop this module jointly with the Japanese space agency Jaxa. It is up to the ESA member countries to decide which of these will actually be implemented.
— When could the earliest creation of the Deep Space Gateway begin?
— Some elements are already in development. This includes, along with Orion, the new American launch vehicle - the so-called Space Launch System (SLS). The first flight of the SLS is scheduled for 2019. Then it is planned to launch the Orion capsule with the European service module into lunar orbit. Construction of the lunar station, according to current plans, will begin in 2022 along with the second flight of the Orion capsule. The individual parts will then be launched one after another into lunar orbit and mounted there. Just like it was with the ISS. But the distance will now be almost 400 thousand kilometers instead of 400 kilometers like the ISS. Of course, this means very special challenges. We are glad that Russia is now in the same boat with us. Russia has extensive experience in building space stations and long-duration space flights.
— It would be easier to fly to Mars from the Moon. There would be no need to overcome gravity.
- Absolutely right. All flight scenarios to our nearest planet are based on the construction of a Mars spacecraft in space. If equipped with an ion engine, it could, for example, launch from lunar orbit. Using this type of engine requires much less fuel than conventional chemical engines. This would increase the payload of the spacecraft.
— How do plans to build a space station in lunar orbit as a springboard for a flight to Mars combine with plans to create a lunar base, which is what space agencies dream about?
“Both of these plans go very well together. In past decades, there was constant talk in the United States about returning man to the moon. This desire has traditionally been more present among Republican governments than among Democrats, who favor Mars as the next goal of American space exploration. NASA Administrator-designate Jim Bridenstine recently spoke out forcefully in favor of returning to the Moon.
Multimedia
NASA 08/28/2017 Secrets of the USSR space program
FTD Facts 07/03/2017 The prospect of permanent residence in a lunar village, as publicly announced two years ago by ESA Director General Jan Wörner, has attracted great interest from our international partners. Including Russia. With the help of the Deep Space Gateway, it would be possible to both populate the Earth’s satellite and undertake a flight to Mars.“The major space agencies are obviously of the same opinion regarding the next steps in space. Will politicians like Donald Trump, for example, agree with this?
- We would like that. With the American president this will probably not be such an easy matter. I look forward to how the United States will react to Igor Komarov’s proposals to involve countries such as China, India, Brazil or South Africa in the construction of the lunar station. Unlike Europe, America has always been very reserved about cooperation with China.
I hope that relations between America and China on spaceflight will improve. Europe could play the role of mediator here. However, one should not be under any illusion that the position of the political leadership will change quickly under Trump.
InoSMI materials contain assessments exclusively of foreign media and do not reflect the position of the InoSMI editorial staff.
Existing plans to build habitable bases on the Moon are sometimes considered a preliminary stage of settlement, but permanent and autonomous human habitation is an order of magnitude more complex task.
Encyclopedic YouTube
1 / 2
✪ Exploration of the Moon (narrated by Sergey Lemeshevsky)
✪ Colonization of the Moon (narrated by astronomer Alexander Bagrov)
Subtitles
Fantastic
Human habitation on another celestial body (beyond Earth) has long been a recurring theme in science fiction.
Reality
The slowdown in the development of space technology after the 1970s makes it difficult to think that space colonization is an easily achievable and in all cases justifiable goal. Due to its proximity to Earth (three days of flight) and fairly good knowledge of the landscape, the Moon has long been considered as a candidate for the creation of a human colony. But although the Soviet and American lunar exploration programs demonstrated the feasibility of going to the Moon (while being very expensive projects), they at the same time dampened the enthusiasm for creating a lunar colony. This was due to the fact that analysis of dust samples delivered by the astronauts showed a very low content of light elements [ ], necessary to maintain life support.
Despite this, with the development of astronautics and the reduction in the cost of space flights, the Moon seems to be the primary object for establishing a base. For scientists, the lunar base is a unique place for conducting scientific research in the fields of planetology, astronomy, cosmology, space biology and other disciplines. Studying the lunar crust can provide answers to the most important questions about the formation and further evolution of the Solar system, the Earth-Moon system, and the emergence of life. The absence of an atmosphere and lower gravity make it possible to build observatories on the lunar surface, equipped with optical and radio telescopes, capable of obtaining much more detailed and clear images of distant regions of the Universe than is possible on Earth, and maintaining and upgrading such telescopes is much easier than orbital observatories.
The moon also has a variety of minerals, including metals valuable for industry - iron, aluminum, titanium; In addition, in the surface layer of the lunar soil, regolith, the isotope helium-3, rare on Earth, has been accumulated, which can be used as fuel for promising thermonuclear reactors. Currently, methods are being developed for the industrial production of metals, oxygen and helium-3 from regolith; Deposits of water ice have been found.
Deep vacuum and the availability of cheap solar energy open new horizons for electronics, metallurgy, metalworking and materials science. In fact, the conditions for metal processing and the creation of microelectronic devices on Earth are less favorable due to the large amount of free oxygen in the atmosphere, which deteriorates the quality of casting and welding, making it impossible to obtain ultra-pure alloys and microcircuit substrates in large volumes. Also of interest is the launching of harmful and dangerous industries to the Moon.
The Moon, thanks to its impressive landscapes and exoticism, also looks like a very likely object for space tourism, which can attract a significant amount of funds for its development, help popularize space travel, and ensure an influx of people to explore the lunar surface. Space tourism will require certain infrastructure solutions. Infrastructure development, in turn, will facilitate greater human penetration of the Moon.
There are plans to use lunar bases for military purposes to control near-Earth space and ensure dominance in space.
Helium-3 in plans for lunar exploration
The creation of a station is not only a matter of science and state prestige, but also of commercial benefit. Helium-3 is a rare isotope, costing approximately US$1,200 per liter of gas, needed in nuclear power to initiate a fusion reaction. On the Moon, its quantity is estimated at thousands of tons (according to minimum estimates - 500 thousand tons). The density of liquid helium-3 at boiling point and normal pressure is 59 g/l, and in gaseous form it is about 1000 times less, therefore, 1 kilogram costs more than 20 million dollars, and all helium costs more than 10 quadrillion dollars (about 500 current GDP USA).
When using helium-3, no long-lived radioactive waste is generated, and therefore the problem of their disposal, which is so acute when operating reactors for the fission of heavy nuclei, disappears by itself.
However, there is also serious criticism of these plans. The fact is that in order to ignite the thermonuclear reaction of deuterium + helium-3, it is necessary to heat the isotopes to a temperature of a billion degrees and solve the problem of confining plasma heated to such a temperature. The current level of technology makes it possible to contain plasma heated to only a few hundred million degrees in the reaction deuterium + tritium, while almost all the energy obtained during the thermonuclear reaction is spent on confining the plasma (see ITER). Therefore, helium-3 reactors are considered by many leading scientists, for example, academician Roald Sagdeev, who criticized Sevastyanov’s plans, to be a matter of the distant future. More realistic from their point of view is the development of oxygen on the Moon, metallurgy, the creation and launch of spacecraft, including satellites, interplanetary stations and manned spacecraft.
Water
Practical steps
Lunar bases in the first "Moon Race"
In the United States, preliminary designs for the lunar military bases Lunex Project and Project Horizon were being developed, and there were also technical proposals for the Werner von Braun lunar base.
In the first half of the 1970s. under hand Academician V.P. Barmin, Moscow and Leningrad scientists developed a project for a long-term lunar base, in which, in particular, they studied the possibility of embanking inhabited structures with a directed explosion for protection from cosmic radiation (inventions of A.I. Melua using Alfred Nobel technologies). In more detail, including models of expeditionary vehicles and manned modules, a project for the USSR lunar base “Zvezda” was developed, which was to be implemented in the 1970s-1980s. as a development of the Soviet lunar program, which was curtailed after the USSR lost the “lunar race” with the USA.
Lunar Oasis
In October 1989, at the 40th Congress of the International Aeronautical Federation, NASA employees Michael Duke, head of the Solar System Research Division at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, and John Niehoff of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) presented project of the lunar station Lunar Oasis. Until now, this project is considered very well-developed and interesting in terms of a number of basic solutions, both original and realistic. The ten-year Lunar Oasis project involved three stages, with a total of 30 flights, half of which were manned (14 tons of cargo each); unmanned launches were estimated at 20 tons of cargo each.
The authors call the cost of the project equal to four Apollo programs, which is approximately $550 billion in 2011 prices. Considering that the implementation time of the program was supposed to be very significant (10 years), the annual costs for it would be about $50 billion. For comparison, we can point out that in 2011 the costs of maintaining American troops in Afghanistan reached $6.7 billion per month, or $80 billion per year.
Lunar bases in the “Moon Race” of the 21st century
The Japanese Space Exploration Agency planned to commission a manned station on the Moon by 2030 - five years later than previously expected. In 2007, Japan began orbital exploration of the Moon using the Kaguya space station. In March 2010, Japan decided to abandon the manned lunar program due to its excessive costs in favor of robotic settlements.
India sent the first space probe Chandrayaan-1 to the Moon in 2008 for the purpose of three-dimensional topography and radio sounding to map the chemical elements of the surface in search of metals, water and helium-3.
Colonization of the Moon- human settlement of the Moon, which is the subject of both science fiction works and real plans for the construction of inhabited bases on the Moon.
Fantastic
Human permanent habitation on another celestial body (beyond Earth) has long been a recurring theme in science fiction.
Reality
The rapid development of space technology makes it possible to think that space colonization is a completely achievable and justifiable goal. Due to its proximity to Earth (three days of flight) and fairly good knowledge of the landscape, the Moon has long been considered as a candidate for the creation of a human colony. But although the Soviet and American lunar exploration programs demonstrated the feasibility of going to the Moon (while being very expensive projects), they at the same time dampened the enthusiasm for creating a lunar colony. This was due to the fact that analysis of dust samples delivered by the astronauts showed a very low content of light elements in it. Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#property" was not found. )]][[K:Wikipedia:Articles without sources (country: Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#property" was not found. )]] necessary to maintain life support.
Despite this, with the development of astronautics and the reduction in cost of space flights, the Moon seems to be an extremely attractive object for colonization. For scientists, the lunar base is a unique place for conducting scientific research in the fields of planetary science, astronomy, cosmology, space biology and other disciplines. Studying the lunar crust can provide answers to the most important questions about the formation and further evolution of the Solar System, the Earth-Moon system, and the emergence of life. The absence of an atmosphere and lower gravity make it possible to build observatories on the lunar surface, equipped with optical and radio telescopes, capable of obtaining much more detailed and clear images of distant regions of the Universe than is possible on Earth, and maintaining and upgrading such telescopes is much easier than orbital observatories.
The moon also has a variety of minerals, including metals valuable for industry - iron, aluminum, titanium; In addition, in the surface layer of the lunar soil, regolith, the isotope helium-3, rare on Earth, has been accumulated, which can be used as fuel for promising thermonuclear reactors. Currently, methods are being developed for the industrial production of metals, oxygen and helium-3 from regolith; Deposits of water ice have been found.
Deep vacuum and the availability of cheap solar energy open new horizons for electronics, metallurgy, metalworking and materials science. In fact, the conditions for metal processing and the creation of microelectronic devices on Earth are less favorable due to the large amount of free oxygen in the atmosphere, which deteriorates the quality of casting and welding, making it impossible to obtain ultra-pure alloys and microcircuit substrates in large volumes. Also of interest is the launching of harmful and dangerous industries to the Moon.
The Moon, thanks to its impressive landscapes and exoticism, also looks like a very likely object for space tourism, which can attract a significant amount of funds for its development, help popularize space travel, and provide an influx of people to explore the lunar surface. Space tourism will require certain infrastructure solutions. Infrastructure development, in turn, will facilitate greater human penetration of the Moon.
There are plans to use lunar bases for military purposes to control near-Earth space and ensure dominance in space.
Helium-3 in plans for lunar exploration
The creation of a station is not only a matter of science and state prestige, but also of commercial benefit. Helium-3 is a rare isotope, costing approximately US$1,200 per liter of gas, needed in nuclear power to initiate a fusion reaction. On the Moon, its quantity is estimated at thousands of tons (according to minimum estimates - 500 thousand tons). The density of liquid helium-3 at boiling point and normal pressure is 59 g/l, and in gaseous form it is about 1000 times less, therefore, 1 kilogram costs more than 20 million dollars, and all helium costs more than 10 quadrillion dollars (about 500 current GDP USA).
When using helium-3, there is no long-lived radioactive waste, and therefore the problem of their disposal, which is so acute when operating heavy nuclear fission reactors, disappears by itself.
However, there is also serious criticism of these plans. The fact is that in order to ignite the thermonuclear reaction of deuterium + helium-3, it is necessary to heat the isotopes to a temperature of a billion degrees and solve the problem of confining plasma heated to such a temperature. The current level of technology makes it possible to contain plasma heated to only a few hundred million degrees in the reaction deuterium + tritium, while almost all the energy obtained during the thermonuclear reaction is spent on confining the plasma (see ITER). Therefore, helium-3 reactors are considered by many leading scientists, for example, academician Roald Sagdeev, who criticized Sevastyanov’s plans, to be a matter of the distant future. More realistic from their point of view is the development of oxygen on the Moon, metallurgy, the creation and launch of spacecraft, including satellites, interplanetary stations and manned spacecraft.
Water
Practical steps
Lunar bases in the first "Moon Race"
In the United States, preliminary designs for lunar military bases Lunex Project and Project Horizon were being developed, and there were also technical proposals for Wernher von Braun's lunar base.
In the first half of the 1970s. under hand Academician V.P. Barmin, Moscow and Leningrad scientists developed a project for a long-term lunar base, in which, in particular, they studied the possibility of embanking inhabited structures with a directed explosion for protection from cosmic radiation (inventions of A.I. Melua using Alfred Nobel technologies). In more detail, including models of expeditionary vehicles and manned modules, a project for the USSR lunar base “Zvezda” was developed, which was to be implemented in the 1970s-1980s. as a development of the Soviet lunar program, which was curtailed after the USSR lost the “lunar race” with the USA.
Lunar Oasis
In October 1989, at the 40th Congress of the International Aeronautical Federation, NASA employees Michael Duke, head of the Solar System Research Division at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, and John Niehoff of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) presented project of the lunar station Lunar Oasis. Until now, this project is considered very well-developed and interesting in terms of a number of basic solutions, both original and realistic. The ten-year Lunar Oasis project involved three stages, with a total of 30 flights, half of which were manned (14 tons of cargo each); unmanned launches were estimated at 20 tons of cargo each.
The authors call the cost of the project equal to four Apollo programs, which is approximately $550 billion in 2011 prices. Considering that the implementation time of the program was supposed to be very significant (10 years), the annual costs for it would be about $50 billion. For comparison, we can point out that in 2011 the costs of maintaining American troops in Afghanistan reached $6.7 billion per month, or $80 billion per year.
Lunar bases in the “Moon Race” of the 21st century
By 2050, it is planned to build a habitable base and a mining range.
Problems
The long-term presence of man on the Moon will require solving a number of problems. Thus, the Earth's atmosphere and magnetic field retain most of the solar radiation. Many micrometeorites also burn up in the atmosphere. On the Moon, without solving radiation and meteorite problems, it is impossible to create conditions for normal colonization. During solar flares, a stream of protons and other particles is created that can pose a threat to astronauts. However, these particles are not very penetrating, and protection against them is a solvable problem. In addition, these particles have low speed, which means they have time to hide in anti-radiation shelters. A much bigger problem is posed by hard X-ray radiation. Calculations have shown that after 100 hours on the surface of the Moon, there is a 10% chance that an astronaut will receive a dose hazardous to health ( 0.1 Gray). In the event of a solar flare, a dangerous dose can be received within a few minutes.
Moon dust poses a separate problem. Moon dust consists of sharp particles (since there is no smoothing effect of erosion), and also has an electrostatic charge. As a result, lunar dust penetrates everywhere and, having an abrasive effect, reduces the life of mechanisms. And if it gets into the lungs, it becomes a threat to human health.
Commercialization is also not obvious. There is no need for large quantities of helium-3 yet. Science has not yet been able to achieve control over the thermonuclear reaction. The most promising project in this regard at the moment (late 2011) is the large-scale international experimental reactor ITER, which is expected to be completed in 2018. This will be followed by about twenty years of experimentation. The industrial use of thermonuclear fusion is expected no earlier than 2050, according to the most optimistic forecasts. In this regard, until this time, the extraction of helium-3 will not be of industrial interest. Space tourism also cannot be called the driving force for the exploration of the Moon, since the investments required at this stage cannot be recouped in a reasonable time through tourism, as shown by the experience of space tourism on the ISS, the income from which does not cover even a small portion of the costs of maintaining the station. [[K:Wikipedia:Articles without sources (country: Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#property" was not found. )]][[K:Wikipedia:Articles without sources (country: Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#property" was not found. )]][[K:Wikipedia:Articles without sources (country: Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#property" was not found. )]]
This state of affairs leads to proposals being made (see Robert Zubrin “A Case for Mars”) that space exploration should begin immediately with Mars.
Filmography
- "Mining on the Moon" Mining the Moon listen) is a popular science film produced by Discovery in 2011.
- “Luna 2112” is a feature film about a lunar base; according to the plot, the base is controlled by one person, and Helium-3 is being mined.
- “Iron Sky” - a feature film about political and social problems and the arms race through the prism of the commercialized Helium-3 mining industry
see also
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Notes
- Arthur Clarke.
- Lysenko M.P., Catterfeld G.N., Melua A.I. On the zonality of soils on the Moon // Izv. All.Geogr. About-va. - 1981. - T. 113. - pp. 438-441.
- . RIA Novosti (February 1, 2012). Retrieved February 2, 2012. .
- Christina Reed (Discovery World).(February 19, 2011). .
- 3D News.(March 4, 2007). Retrieved May 26, 2007.
- . Expert (November 19, 2007). .
- . PopMech (September 25, 2009). .
- . NASA (November 14, 2009). .
- . PopMech (November 20, 2009). .
- J. “Energy of the future.” March" 2006, p. 56
- NASAwatch.com website: .
- China.Com.(February 14, 2006). Retrieved May 26, 2007. .
- , ABC News (September 2, 2007). Retrieved September 2, 2007.
- (05/08/2014). Retrieved May 8, 2014.
- CNews.Ru.(December 4, 2006). Retrieved May 26, 2007. .
- CNews.Ru.(January 24, 2007). Retrieved May 26, 2007. .
- Popular Mechanics.(March 21, 2007). Retrieved May 26, 2007. .
Links
- Shevchenko V.V. ( video, lecture at the Moscow Planetarium)
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Excerpt characterizing the Colonization of the Moon
– Do you want to see the real Meteora, Isidora? Most likely, you will never have such an opportunity again,” Sever said sadly.– May I ask what the word meteora means?
- Oh, it was a long time ago when they named him... Now it doesn’t matter anymore. But once upon a time it sounded a little different. This meant - WE-TE-U-RA, which meant - close to light and knowledge, storing them and living by them. But then too many “ignorant people” began to look for us. And the name changed. Many did not hear its sound, and many did not care at all. They did not understand that even by setting foot here, they were already in contact with FAITH. That she met them already at the very threshold, starting with their name and understanding it... I know, this is not your speech, and it’s probably difficult for you to understand it, Isidora. Although your name is also one of those... It is significant.
– You forgot that language is not important to me, Sever. “I feel and see him,” I smiled.
- Forgive me, I know... I forgot who you are. Do you want to see what is given only to those who know, Isidora? You won't have another opportunity, you won't come back here again.
I just nodded, trying to hold back the angry, bitter tears that were ready to pour down my cheeks. The hope of being with them, of receiving their strong, friendly support was dying before I even had time to properly wake up. I was left alone. Without learning something very important to me... And almost defenseless, against a strong and terrible man, with a formidable name - Caraffa...
But the decision was made, and I was not going to back down. Otherwise, what was our Life worth if we had to live betraying ourselves? Suddenly, I completely calmed down - everything finally fell into place, there was nothing more to hope for. I could only rely on myself. And this is exactly what we should have started from. And what the end will be - I forced myself not to think about it anymore.
We moved along a high stone corridor, which, ever expanding, went deeper. The cave was just as light and pleasant, and only the smell of spring herbs became much stronger the further we went. Suddenly, a luminous golden “wall” shone right in front of us, on which a single large rune sparkled... I immediately realized that this was protection from the “uninitiated”. It looked like a dense shimmering curtain, created from some kind of material, unprecedented to me, shining with gold, through which I most likely would not have been able to pass without outside help. Stretching out his hand, North lightly touched it with his palm, and the golden “wall” immediately disappeared, opening a passage into an amazing room... I immediately had a bright feeling of something “alien”, as if something was telling me what it was It was not quite the familiar world in which I had always lived... But after a moment the strange “foreignness” disappeared somewhere, and again everything became familiar and good. The probing sensation of someone invisible watching us intensified. But, again, it was not hostile, but rather similar to the warm touch of a good old friend, once long lost and now suddenly found again... In the far corner of the room a small natural fountain sparkled with iridescent splashes. The water in it was so clear that it was visible only by the rainbow reflections of light shining on the trembling mirror drops. Looking at this miracle spring, I suddenly felt a burning thirst. And before she had time to ask Sever if I could have a drink, she immediately received an answer:
– Of course, Isidora, try it! This is the water of Life, we all drink it when we lack strength, when the burden becomes too heavy to bear. Try!
I bent down to scoop up the miraculous water with my palms, and felt incredible relief, even before I even had time to touch it!.. It seemed that all my troubles, all the bitterness suddenly receded somewhere, I felt unusually calm and happy... It was incredible – I didn’t even have time to try!.. Confusedly, I turned to the North – he was smiling. Apparently, everyone who touched this miracle for the first time experienced the same sensations. I scooped up the water with my palms - it sparkled with small diamonds, like morning dew on sunlit grass... Carefully, trying not to spill precious drops, I took a tiny sip - a unique lightness spread throughout my body!.. As if someone had waved a magic wand, taking pity on me, he gave me fifteen years off! I felt light, like a bird soaring high in the sky... My head became clean and clear, as if I had just been born.
- What is this?!. – I whispered in surprise.
“I told you,” Sever smiled. – Living Water... It helps to absorb knowledge, relieves fatigue, and returns light. Everyone who is here drinks it. She has always been here, as far as I remember.
He pushed me further. And then I suddenly realized what seemed so strange to me... The room did not end!.. In appearance it seemed small, but continued to “lengthen” as we moved through it!.. It was incredible! I looked at Sever again, but he just nodded, as if saying: “Don’t be surprised by anything, everything is fine.” And I stopped being surprised... A man “came out” right from the wall of the room... Startled in surprise, I immediately tried to pull myself together so as not to show surprise, since for everyone else living here, this was apparently completely familiar. The man came straight up to us and said in a low, sonorous voice:
- Hello, Isidora! I am the Magus Isten. I know it’s hard for you... But you yourself chose the path. Come with me - I'll show you what you've lost.
We moved on. I followed a wonderful man from whom incredible power emanated, and sadly thought how easy and simple everything would be if he wanted to help! But, unfortunately, he didn’t want to either... I walked, deep in thought, completely not noticing how I found myself in an amazing space, completely filled with narrow shelves, on which rested an incredible number of unusual gold plates and very old “packages” similar to ancient manuscripts kept in my father’s house, with the only difference being that those stored here were made on some very thin unfamiliar material, which I had never seen anywhere before. The plates and scrolls were different - small and very large, short and long, as tall as a man. And in this strange room there were a great many of them...
– This is KNOWLEDGE, Isidora. Or rather, a very small part of it. You can absorb it if you wish. It will not harm, and may even help you in your quest. Try it, honey...
Isten smiled affectionately, and it suddenly seemed to me that I had always known him. A wonderful warmth and peace emanated from him, which I so missed all these terrible days fighting Caraffa. He apparently felt all this very well, because he looked at me with deep sadness, as if he knew what an evil fate awaited me outside the walls of Meteora. And he mourned me in advance... I approached one of the endless shelves, “filled to the top” with semicircular gold plates, to see how Isten suggested... But before I even had time to bring my hand closer, a flurry of stunning things literally fell on me. wonderful visions!!! Stunning pictures, unlike anything I had ever seen, flashed through my exhausted brain, replacing each other with incredible speed... Some of them for some reason remained, and some disappeared, immediately bringing with them new ones that I I also almost didn’t have time to look at it. What was that?!.. The life of some long-dead people? Our Great Ancestors? The visions changed, rushing by at crazy speed. The stream did not end, taking me to some amazing countries and worlds, not allowing me to wake up. Suddenly one of them flashed brighter than the others, and a stunning city was revealed to me... it was airy and transparent, as if created from White Light.
- What is this??? – I whispered quietly, afraid to scare him away. – Could this be real?..
- This is the Holy City, dear. City of our Gods. He’s been gone for a very long time...” Isten said quietly. - This is where we all once came from... Only on Earth no one remembers him - then, suddenly catching himself, he added: - Be careful, dear, it will be hard for you. No need to look anymore.
But I wanted more!.. Some kind of scorching thirst burned my brain, begging me not to stop! The unfamiliar world beckoned and bewitched with its pristineness!.. I wanted to plunge into it headlong and, plunging deeper and deeper, draw from it endlessly, without missing a single moment, without wasting a single precious minute... which, as I understood, there was very, very little of me left here... Each new plate revealed itself to me with thousands of stunning images, which were surprisingly bright and now somehow understandable, as if I had suddenly found a magic key to them that had long been lost by someone. Time flew by, but I didn’t notice it... I wanted more and more. And it was very scary that right now someone would definitely stop me, and it would be time to leave this wonderful storehouse of someone’s incredible memory, which I would never again be able to comprehend. It was very sad and painful, but, unfortunately, I had no way back. I chose my life myself and was not going to renounce it. Even if it was incredibly difficult...
- Well, that's all, honey. I can't show you anymore. You are an “apostate” who did not want to find out... And your way here is closed. But I’m sincerely sorry, Isidora... You have a great Gift! You could easily DO all this... If you wanted to. Not everyone has it that easy... Your nature craves it. But you chose a different path, so you must leave now. My thoughts will be with you, child of Light. Walk with FAITH, let it help you. Goodbye Isidora...
The room disappeared... We found ourselves in some other stone room, also filled with many scrolls, but they looked different, perhaps not as ancient as the previous ones. I suddenly felt very sad... To the point of pain in my soul, I wanted to comprehend these other people’s “secrets”, to see the wealth hidden in them, but I left... never to return here.
- Think, Isidora! – as if sensing my doubt, Sever said quietly. – You haven’t left yet, stay.
I just shook my head negatively...
Suddenly my attention was attracted by a familiar, but still incomprehensible phenomenon - as we moved forward, the room lengthened here as we walked further. But if in the previous room I didn’t see a soul, then here, as soon as I looked around, I saw a lot of people - young and old, men and women. There were even children here!.. They were all studying something very carefully, completely withdrawing into themselves, and detachedly comprehending some “wise truths”... Not paying any attention to those who entered.
– Who are all these people, North? Do they live here? – I asked in a whisper.
– These are Witches and Sorcerers, Isidora. Your father was once one of them... We train them.
My heart ached... I wanted to howl in a wolf’s voice, feeling sorry for myself and my short lost life!.. Throwing everything away, sit down with them, with these happy Sorcerers and Witches, in order to know with my mind and heart the whole depth of the wonderful, so generously revealed to them great KNOWLEDGE! Burning tears were ready to flow like a river, but I tried with my last strength to somehow hold them back. There was no way to do this, since tears were another “forbidden luxury” to which I had no right if I considered myself a real Warrior. The soldiers did not cry. They fought and won, and if they died, it certainly wasn’t with tears in their eyes... Apparently, I was just very tired. From loneliness and pain... From constant fear for my family... From an endless struggle in which I did not have the slightest hope of emerging victorious. I really needed a breath of fresh air, and that air for me was my daughter, Anna. But for some reason, she was nowhere to be seen, although I knew that Anna was here, with them, on this wonderful and strange, “closed” land.
Sever stood next to me on the edge of the gorge, and deep sadness lurked in his gray eyes. I wanted to ask him - will I ever see him? But there was not enough strength. I didn't want to say goodbye. I didn't want to leave. Life here was so wise and calm, and everything seemed so simple and good!.. But there, in my cruel and imperfect world, good people were dying, and it was time to return to try to save at least someone... This is for real was my world, no matter how scary it was. And my father, who remained there, perhaps suffered cruelly, unable to escape from the clutches of Caraffa, whom I firmly decided, no matter what the cost, to destroy, even if for this I had to give up my short and so dear to me life...
– Can I see Anna? – I asked Sever with hope in my soul.
– Forgive me, Isidora, Anna is undergoing “cleansing” from the bustle of the world... Before she enters the same hall where you were just now. She won't be able to come to you now...
– But why didn’t I need to “clean” anything? – I was surprised. – Anna is still a child, she doesn’t have too much worldly “dirt”, does she?
- She has to absorb too much into herself, to comprehend the whole infinity... And you will never return there. There is no need for you to forget anything “old”, Isidora... I am very sorry.
“So I’ll never see my daughter again?” I asked in a whisper.
- You'll see. I will help you. And now do you want to say goodbye to the Magi, Isidora? This is your only opportunity, don't miss it.
Well, of course, I wanted to see them, the Lords of this entire Wise World! My father told me so much about them, and I dreamed about them for so long! Only I could not imagine then how sad our meeting would be for me...
North raised his palms and the rock, shimmering, disappeared. We found ourselves in a very high, round hall, which at the same time seemed like a forest, a meadow, a fairy-tale castle, or just “nothing”... No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t see its walls or what was happening around. The air shimmered and shimmered with thousands of shiny “drops”, similar to human tears... Overcoming my excitement, I inhaled... The “rainy” air was surprisingly fresh, clean and light! From him, spreading with life-giving power, the finest living threads of “golden” warmth ran throughout his body. The feeling was wonderful!..
“Come in, Isidora, the Fathers are waiting for you,” whispered Sever.
I stepped further - the trembling air “moved apart”... The Magi stood right in front of me...
“I came to say goodbye, prophets.” Peace be with you...” I said quietly, not knowing how I should greet them.
Never in my life have I felt such a complete, all-encompassing, Great POWER!.. They didn’t move, but it seemed that this whole hall was swaying with warm waves of some kind of power that was unprecedented for me... It was real LIFE!!! I didn’t know what other words could be used to call it. I was shocked!.. I wanted to embrace it with myself!.. To absorb it into myself... Or just fall to my knees!.. Feelings overwhelmed me with a stunning avalanche, hot tears flowed down my cheeks...
- Be healthy, Isidora. – the voice of one of them sounded warmly. - We pity you. You are the daughter of the Magus, you will share his path... The power will not leave you. Walk with FAITH, my dear...
My soul strove for them with the cry of a dying bird!.. My wounded heart rushed towards them, breaking against an evil fate... But I knew that it was too late - they forgave me... and pitied me. Never before had I “heard” the deep meaning of these wonderful words. And now the joy from their marvelous, new sound surged, filling me, not allowing me to sigh from the feelings that overwhelmed my wounded soul...
In these words there lived a quiet, bright sadness, and the acute pain of loss, the beauty of the life that I had to live, and a huge wave of Love, coming from somewhere far away and, merging with the Earth, flooding my soul and body... Life rushed by like a whirlwind , touching every “edge” of my nature, leaving no cell that would not be touched by the warmth of love. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to leave... And, probably because of the same fear, I immediately woke up from a wonderful “farewell”, seeing next to me people amazing in their inner strength and beauty. Around me stood tall elders and young men, dressed in dazzling white clothes, like long tunics. Some of them had a red belt, and two had a patterned wide “belt” embroidered in gold and silver.
Oh look! – my impatient friend Stella unexpectedly interrupted the wonderful moment. – They are very similar to your “star friends”, as you showed them to me!.. Look, is it really them, what do you think?! Well, tell me!!!
To be honest, even when we saw the Holy City, it seemed very familiar to me. And I also had similar thoughts as soon as I saw the Magi. But I immediately drove them away, not wanting to entertain vain “rosy hopes”... It was too important and too serious, and I just waved my hand to Stella, as if saying that we’ll talk later, when we’re alone. I understood that Stella would be upset, because, as always, she wanted to immediately get an answer to her question. But at the moment, in my opinion, this was not nearly as important as the wonderful story Isidora was telling, and I mentally asked Stella to wait. I smiled guiltily at Isidora, and she responded with her wonderful smile and continued...
My gaze was caught by a powerful, tall old man who had something subtly similar to my beloved father, who suffered in the basements of Caraffa. For some reason, I immediately understood - this was the Lord... the Great White Magus. His amazing, piercing, powerful gray eyes looked at me with deep sadness and warmth, as if he was telling me the last “Farewell!”...
– Come, Child of Light, we will forgive you...
From him suddenly came a wondrous, joyful white Light, which, enveloping everything around in a soft glow, embraced me in a gentle embrace, penetrating into the most hidden corners of my pain-torn Soul... The Light permeated every cell, leaving in it only goodness and peace, “ washing away pain and sadness, and all the bitterness that has accumulated over the years. I soared in a magical radiance, forgetting everything “earthly cruel”, everything “evil and false”, feeling only the wondrous touch of Eternal Existence... The feeling was amazing!!! And I mentally begged - if only it would not end... But, according to the capricious desire of fate, everything beautiful always ends faster than we would like it...
– We gifted you with FAITH, it will help you, Child... Hear it... And sling, Isidora...
I didn’t even have time to answer, but the Magi “flashed” with a wondrous Light and... leaving the smell of flowering meadows, they disappeared. Sever and I were left alone... I sadly looked around - the cave remained just as mysterious and sparkling, only it no longer had that pure, warm light that penetrated my very soul...
– This was the Father of Jesus, wasn’t it? – I asked carefully.
- Just like the grandfather and great-grandfather of his son and grandchildren, whose death also lies to blame on his soul...
– ?!..
“Yes, Isidora, He is the one who bears the bitter burden of pain... And you will never be able to imagine how great it is...” Sever answered sadly.
– Perhaps it would not be so bitter today if He had taken pity on the good people who were dying from the ignorance and cruelty of others?.. If He had responded to the call of his wonderful and bright Son, instead of giving him up to be tortured evil executioners? If even now he would not just continue to “watch” from his height how the “holy” accomplices of Caraffa burn Sorcerers and Witches in the squares?.. How is he better than Caraffa, if he does not prevent such Evil, North?! After all, if he is able to help, but does not want to, all this earthly horror will forever lie on him! And neither the reason nor the explanation is important when a beautiful human life is at stake!.. I will never be able to understand this, Sever. And I will not “leave” while good people are being destroyed here, while my earthly Home is being destroyed. Even if I never see my real one... This is my destiny. And therefore - goodbye...
- Goodbye, Isidora. Peace to your soul... Forgive me.
I was again in “my” room, in my dangerous and merciless existence... And everything that had just happened seemed like just a wonderful dream that I would never dream of again in this life... Or a beautiful fairy tale in which I was probably waiting someone's "happy ending." But not me... I felt sorry for my failed life, but I was very proud of my brave girl, who will be able to comprehend this whole great Miracle... if Caraffa does not destroy her before she can defend herself.
The door opened noisily - an enraged Caraffa stood on the threshold.
– Well, where did you “walk”, Madonna Isidora? – my tormentor asked in a feignedly sweet voice.
– I wanted to visit my daughter, Your Holiness. But I couldn't...
I didn't care what he thought or whether my "outing" made him angry. My soul hovered far away, in the amazing White City, which showed me the East, and everything around me seemed distant and miserable. But, unfortunately, Caraffa did not allow me to go into dreams for a long time... Immediately sensing my changed mood, “Holiness” panicked.
– Did they let you into Meteora, Madonna Isidora? – Karaffa asked as calmly as possible.
I knew that in his heart he was simply “burning”, wanting to get an answer faster, and I decided to torment him until he told me where my father was now.
– Does it matter, Your Holiness? After all, my father is with you, from whom you can ask everything that naturally I will not answer. Or have you not yet had time to interrogate him enough?
– I do not advise you to talk to me in such a tone, Isidora. His fate will largely depend on how you intend to behave. Therefore, try to be more polite.
“How would you behave if, instead of mine, your father, Holiness, was here?” I asked, trying to change the topic that had become dangerous.
– If my father was a HERETIC, I would burn him at the stake! – Caraffa answered completely calmly.
What kind of soul did this “holy” man have?!.. And did he even have one?.. What then was there to talk about strangers, if he could answer this about his own father?..
“Yes, I was in Meteora, Your Holiness, and I really regret that I will never go there again...” I answered sincerely.
- Were you really kicked out of there too, Isidora? – Caraffa laughed in surprise.
– No, Holiness, I was invited to stay. I left on my own...
- It can not be so! There is no such person who would not want to stay there, Isidora!
- Well, why? And my father, Holiness?
“I don’t believe he was allowed to.” I think he should have left. It's just that his time is probably up. Or the Gift was not strong enough.
It seemed to me that he was trying, at all costs, to convince himself of what he really wanted to believe.
“Not all people love only themselves, you know...” I said sadly. – There is something more important than power or force. There is still Love in the world...
Karaffa waved me off like an annoying fly, as if I had just said some complete nonsense...
The success of China's lunar mission has forced American scientists to think about the pros and cons of colonizing the Earth's satellite. But in general, researchers are inclined to colonize the Moon as quickly as possible, since this is both an experiment, preparation for a flight to Mars, and possible economic benefits. However, the struggle for Selena's resources is inevitable.
The success of China's lunar mission forced American planetary scientists to search for incentives that would make local politicians concerned about the development of the Earth's satellite. An article on this topic was published in New Space magazine by Christopher McKay from NASA. He believes that the United States urgently needs to build a base on the Moon and organize regular flights there and back.
According to McKay, restarting the manned lunar program would primarily increase the international influence of the United States. “In the coming decades, significant activity will clearly be observed on the lunar surface,” writes the planetary scientist. “The country’s national interests on the Moon dictate that NASA maintain a long-term and continuous presence of the American state on the Earth’s satellite prior to international and private missions.”
The scientist touches on such a topic as space tourism. "Will private companies be allowed to take tourists to see Neil Armstrong's footprints?" he asks. "How close will they get to them? Who makes the rules?"
It’s just that it’s not clear with the rules... The US government once proposed a ban on approaching the first footprints of man on the Moon at a distance of less than half a kilometer. And it’s not just about the safety of these prints. According to the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, no country can lay claim to Earth's satellite or any part of it.
But is this possible if the Moon begins to be explored in practice? Let’s say, if the Chinese manage to create a lunar base in fifteen years, it will probably be located near one of the large craters with reserves of water ice - to supply the colonists with water. And private companies such as Bigelow Aerospace are planning to begin developing iridium and platinum deposits on the Moon. What if some competing company or an entire state wants to exploit the same source of water or the same deposit? After all, according to the existing law, it seems that neither one nor the other has the right to the exclusive exploitation of these resources...
The 1967 treaty was initiated by the USSR in order to prevent the possible construction of an American military base on the Moon and the deployment of nuclear weapons there. But in those days there was no talk of total colonization of the satellite - there were no technological capabilities. However, now Japan and China are talking about the proposed construction of their own facilities on the Moon. In this case, their legal status will be very difficult to regulate. This can only be done through international institutions, in particular, through the UN, which may not be so easy. In addition, the very existence of the base can provide a useful “side effect” for the United States: tourists will flock there, and geological exploration and mining will also be initiated.
For private businesses, satellite surface exploration is too expensive. A place is needed where the “scouts” can be based. Government investment wouldn't hurt either. Therefore, the presence of a state base will “attract” private companies to the Moon. It will also be possible to build refueling stations at the base, because the water there contains hydrogen and oxygen. This will help reduce the cost of delivering cargo to deep orbit.
Of course, writes McKay, the work of a permanent lunar base will lead to more and more new discoveries. For example, scientists will finally get an idea of the nature of the satellite's geological activity. Thus, there is an assumption that in the crevices with frozen lava that dot the surface of the Moon, there may also be deposits of cometary ice that can provide people with water, oxygen for breathing and energy.
The stationary lunar base will also become an experiment in human survival in conditions of reduced gravity. According to experts, prolonged absence of gravity can cause dysfunction of the kidneys and other vital organs. If you send astronauts directly to Mars (as some suggest), then it will be possible to evacuate them from there in the event of unforeseen situations only after six months. For Luna, this operation will take no more than three days.
Colonization of the Moon is not at all as expensive a project as it seemed to us in the 60s and 70s of the last century, when the Apollo missions were carried out, adds Christopher McKay. After all, firstly, the production of spaceships has become cheaper, and secondly, with the advent of three-dimensional printers, the manufacture of any necessary tools in the presence of the necessary raw materials has ceased to be a problem. Thirdly, recent research has shown that it is possible to mass produce concrete and other materials from lunar raw materials.
"It's not much more complicated than supplying and operating an orbital station," McKay says of the lunar project. If we want to continue the exploration of space by people, and not by machines, then the first stage should be the Moon - the “planet” closest to us, he is sure.
People have always been interested in space. The Moon, being closest to our planet, became the only celestial body visited by man. How did the research on our satellite begin, and who won the palm in landing on the Moon?
Natural satellite
The Moon is a celestial body that has accompanied our planet for centuries. It does not emit light, but only reflects it. The Moon is the satellite of the Earth that is closest to the Sun. In the sky of our planet, it is the second brightest object.
We always see one side of the Moon due to the fact that its rotation is synchronized with the rotation of the Earth around its axis. The Moon moves around the Earth unevenly - sometimes moving away, sometimes approaching it. The great minds of the world have long racked their brains to study its movement. This is an incredibly complex process that is influenced by the oblateness of the Earth and the gravity of the Sun.
Scientists are still arguing about how the Moon was formed. There are three versions, one of which - the main one - was put forward after obtaining samples of lunar soil. It was called the giant impact theory. The basis is the assumption that more than 4 billion years ago two protoplanets collided, and their broken-off particles got stuck in near-Earth orbit, eventually forming the Moon.
Another theory suggests that the Earth and its natural satellite were formed due to a gas and dust cloud at the same time. Proponents of the third theory suggest that the Moon originated far from the Earth, but was captured by our planet.
Beginning of lunar exploration
Even in ancient times, this celestial body haunted humanity. The first studies of the Moon were carried out in the 2nd century BC by Hipparchus, who tried to describe its movement, size and distance from the Earth.
In 1609, Galileo invented the telescope, and the exploration of the Moon (albeit visual) moved to a new level. It became possible to study the surface of our satellite, to discern its craters and mountains. For example, Giovanni Riccioli made it possible to create one of the first lunar maps in 1651. At that time, the term “sea” was born, denoting the dark areas of the surface of the Moon, and craters began to be named after famous personalities.
In the 19th century, photography came to the aid of astronomers, which made it possible to conduct more accurate studies of relief features. Lewis Rutherford, Warren de la Rue and Pierre Jansen at different times actively studied the lunar surface from photographs, and the latter created its “Photographic Atlas”.
Exploration of the Moon. Attempts to create a rocket
The first stages of study have been completed, and interest in the Moon is becoming increasingly ardent. In the 19th century, the first thoughts about space travel to the satellite arose, which is where the history of the exploration of the Moon began. For such a flight it was necessary to create a device whose speed would be able to overcome gravity. It turned out that the existing engines were not powerful enough to gain the required speed and maintain it. There were also difficulties with the vector of movement of the vehicles, since after takeoff they necessarily rounded off their movement and fell to Earth.
The solution came in 1903, when engineer Tsiolkovsky created a project for a rocket capable of overcoming the gravitational field and reaching the target. The fuel in the rocket engine had to burn at the very beginning of the flight. Thus, its mass became much smaller, and movement was carried out due to the released energy.
Who is first?
The 20th century was marked by large-scale military events. All scientific potential was channeled into military channels, and exploration of the Moon had to be slowed down. The outbreak of the Cold War in 1946 forced astronomers and engineers to think again about space travel. One of the questions in the rivalry between the Soviet Union and the United States was the following: who will be the first to land on the surface of the Moon?
The primacy in the struggle for the exploration of the Moon and outer space went to the Soviet Union, and on October 4, 1957, the first one was launched, and two years later the first space station “Luna-1”, or, as it was called, “Dream”, headed to the Moon.
In January 1959, the AMS - an automatic interplanetary station - passed about 6 thousand kilometers from the Moon, but could not land. “Dream” fell into a heliocentric orbit, becoming artificial. The period of its revolution around the star is 450 days.
The landing on the Moon was unsuccessful, but very valuable data were obtained on the outer radiation belt of our planet and the solar wind. It was possible to establish that the natural satellite has an insignificant magnetic field.
Following the Soyuz, in March 1959, the United States launched Pioneer 4, which flew 60,000 km from the Moon, ending up in solar orbit.
The real breakthrough happened on September 14 of the same year, when the Luna 2 spacecraft made the world's first “lunar landing.” The station had no shock absorption, so the landing was hard, but significant. This was done by Luna 2 near the Sea of Rains.
Exploring the lunar expanses
The first landing opened the way for further research. Following Luna-2, Luna-3 was sent, which circled the satellite and photographed the “dark side” of the planet. The lunar map became more complete, new names of craters appeared on it: Jules Verne, Kurchatov, Lobachevsky, Mendeleev, Pasteur, Popov, etc.
The first American station landed on the Earth's satellite only in 1962. It was the Ranger 4 station that fell on
Then the American “Rangers” and the Soviet “Lunas” and “Probes” took turns attacking outer space, either making television photographs of the lunar surface, or crashing into pieces on it. The first soft landing was achieved by the Luna-9 station in 1966, and Luna-10 became the first satellite of the Moon. Having circled this planet 460 times, the “satellite of the satellite” interrupted communication with the Earth.
"Luna-9" broadcast a television program filmed by automatic machine. From television screens, Soviet viewers watched the filming of cold desert spaces.
The US followed the same course as the Union. In 1967, the American station Surveyor 1 made the second soft landing in the history of astronautics.
To the moon and back
In just a few years, Soviet and American researchers managed to achieve unimaginable success. The mysterious night luminary has haunted the consciousness of both great minds and hopeless romantics for many centuries. Step by step, the Moon became closer and more accessible to humans.
The next goal was not just to send a space station to the satellite, but also to return it back to Earth. The engineers faced new challenges. The device flying back had to enter the earth's atmosphere at a not too steep angle, otherwise it could burn out. Too large an angle, on the contrary, could create a ricochet effect, and the device would again fly into space without ever reaching the Earth.
Difficulties with angle calibration have been resolved. The Zond series of vehicles successfully completed landing flights from 1968 to 1970. Zond-6 became a test. He had to perform a test flight so that cosmonaut pilots could then carry it out. The device circled the Moon at a distance of 2500 km, but upon returning to Earth the parachute opened too early. The station crashed and the astronauts' flight was cancelled.
Americans on the Moon: the first lunar explorers
Steppe tortoises were the first to fly around the Moon and return to Earth. The animals were sent into space on the Soviet Zond 5 spacecraft in 1968.
The United States was clearly lagging behind in the exploration of the lunar expanses, because all the first successes belonged to the USSR. In 1961, US President Kennedy made a loud statement that by 1970 a man would land on the Moon. And the Americans will do it.
To implement such a plan, it was necessary to prepare reliable ground. Photographs of the lunar surface taken by the Ranger ships were studied, and anomalous phenomena of the Moon were studied.
The Apollo program was opened for manned flights, which used calculations of the flight trajectory to the Moon made by the Ukrainian. Subsequently, this trajectory was called the “Kondratyuk Route”.
Apollo 8 carried out the first test manned flight without landing. F. Borman, W. Anders, J. Lovell made several circles around the natural satellite, taking photographs of the area for the future expedition. T. Stafford and J. Young on Apollo 10 carried out the second flight around the satellite. The astronauts separated from the spacecraft module and remained 15 km from the Moon separately.
After all the preparations, Apollo 11 was finally launched. The Americans landed on the Moon on July 21, 1969 near the Sea of Tranquility. Neil Armstrong took the first step, followed by The astronauts spent 21.5 hours on the natural satellite.
Further studies
After Armstrong and Aldrin, 5 more scientific expeditions were sent to the Moon. The last time astronauts landed on the surface of the satellite was in 1972. Throughout human history, only in these expeditions did people land on other
The Soviet Union did not abandon the study of the surface of the natural satellite. Since 1970, radio-controlled Lunokhods of the 1st and 2nd series were sent. The Lunokhod on the Moon collected soil samples and photographed the relief.
In 2013, China became the third country to reach our satellite, making a soft landing using the Yutu lunar rover.
Conclusion
Since ancient times it has been a fascinating object of study. In the 20th century, the exploration of the Moon turned from scientific research into a heated political race. A lot has been done to travel there. Now the Moon remains the most studied astronomical object, which, moreover, has been visited by man.
