- This event has passed.
Humans in Space, Part II
May 11 @ 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM PDT
Free
After a decades-long hiatus, humans are once again focused on returning to the Moon, and we are seriously considering voyages to worlds beyond it for the first time. This is the first of a two-part series on how we got into space decades ago and our more recent efforts to push beyond the confines of the Earth.
In the last few decades, both national and commercial entities have developed plans to go to the Moon, and beyond. A de facto Space Race 2 has begun, but this time there is a more diverse set of ‘players’ and they have a more diverse set of reasons for going there.
China determined to became the third nation in space as early as the late 1960s. Their quest was suspended in the 1970s but revived in 1992, resulting in the first crewed mission in 2003. China has continued efforts alone since then, resulting in a crewed space station currently in Earth’s orbit. Recent uncrewed missions to the Moon are part of a program with the goal to land humans near the lunar South Pole and to build a base there within the next decade, and then to push on to Mars.
In the 2000s, the United States at first planned a solo return to the Moon, but that plan was scrapped in favor of the Artemis Accord, a collaboration of many countries and commercial entities. In addition to successful uncrewed missions, including craft orbiting the Moon today, the uncrewed Artemis I launched in December 2023 and safely returned to Earth in a rehearsal for the first crewed mission to the Moon since 1972 that was originally scheduled for late 2024 but has now been pushed back to at least September 2025. Artemis 3 in intended to be a crewed landing on the Moon. A joint lunar space station called Gateway is also in the design stage.
The most fascinating part of these efforts to put humans in space is not the details of the missions themselves, but the very real human side associated with them. Come join us at The Science Circle to learn about why and how we have decided to go back to the Moon and beyond and all of what is involved in doing so.