The New Race to Reach the Moon—and Find Water
Wall Street JournalAug 21, 2023
The Facts
Japan's Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM), nicknamed the "Moon Sniper," successfully entered lunar orbit at 4.51 p.m. local time on Monday ahead of a landing planned for next month.
The Moon Sniper's elliptical orbit comes within 373 miles (600 km) of the moon's surface at its closest and reaches a distance of 2485 miles (4000 km) from the body at its farthest.
The Spin
Narrative A
Contenders in the new space race, such as India and China, and their successful space endeavors have renewed interest in moon exploration. The new locus of exploration, the lunar south pole, could be home to water that could make permanent settlement possible. We are on the cusp of an exciting new era of space exploration.
Narrative B
It's hard to claim that the new space race will be based on scientific progress and cooperation, as minerals worth trillions of dollars are waiting to be claimed on the moon. An increase in the number of countries and private companies seeking to land on the moon for resource exploration could open the door to never-before-seen conflict. Let's encourage progress, but ensure countries are in it for the right reasons.
Nerd narrative
There's a 50% chance that the next human being will walk on the moon by November 2028, according to the Metaculus prediction community.