A new wave of moon exploration will rely on UK know-how
3 min read
There will be a lot happening for Britain in space in 2024, including a possible rocket launch from Shetland and a new generation of satellites commissioned by OneWeb. High on my list is Britain getting involved with lunar missions.
Until this year, we had pretty much stayed out of any lunar activities: it is hard to identify any British kit that has made it to the moon. But there is now a surge in interest. The American Artemis mission should get the United States back to the moon in the next few years, of course, but other planned lunar missions will involve countries such as Israel, the United Arab Emirates, India and China, too. Indeed, there are forecast to be 250 moon missions over the next decade. The next one should be a Japanese lunar landing later in January. And Britain is now getting involved, applying our specialist skills to the lunar environment.
We are working to develop a small nuclear power reactor to provide power on the moon
At the UK Space Agency, we are working with Rolls Royce to develop a small nuclear power reactor to provide power on the moon. Power is vital during the lunar night when all sunlight, and therefore all solar power, stops. You need very big batteries or another power source to continue a mission. A recent mission by an Indian lunar rover suffered this fate as it could not carry enough fuel to survive the night. NASA is interested in nuclear power for this reason and they value our expertise in very small reactors.
One of Britain’s strengths is in using satellites for communications. We have built a quarter of the world’s communications satellites. So far, they have been in orbit above the Earth. But as the moon gets busier, it will make sense to provide lunar communications satellites so that each individual mission does not need to take its own kit. The Lunar Pathfinder satellite, designed by Surrey Satellites, is set to launch in 2025 with the aim to then launch a constellation of satellites in lunar orbit from 2028. They will help transmit much larger volumes of data back to Earth and will be the start of a sat-nav service for lunar vehicles.
Now that ice has been discovered at the frozen South Pole, there is the potential to break it down into hydrogen and oxygen for future rocket fuel. We are also working with the Canadian Space Agency to develop technologies to purify the ice locked in the moon’s soil. Establishing a permanent crew based on the moon’s surface by the end of the decade will only be possible if astronauts have reliable access to water. It is far better to source that water on the moon than to send it up from Earth.
In Cornwall, Goonhilly Earth Station is developing antenna and infrastructure to track missions to the moon and beyond. The same antenna which carried the 1985 Live Aid concert around the world will be upgraded and repurposed to provide precise tracking of missions in deep space.
All this must be done responsibly. It is estimated that we have already left the remains of over 70 spacecraft, five American flags, two golf balls, used wet wipes, a silicon disk with goodwill messages from world leaders, rakes, shovels, 12 pairs of boots, and 96 bags of human waste on the moon. It would be good to agree some kind of standards of behaviour before we create too much of a mess. NASA’s Artemis accords, which we have signed up to, are a good start.
Britain has an important role to play, both in delivering key niche technologies for lunar missions and in pressing for responsible behaviour in space and on the moon.
Lord Willetts, Conservative peer and chair of the UK Space Agency
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