The Moon’s south pole appears to be messed up, with both NASA and China directing space missions to the same landing site and attempting to take some of the region’s limited resources.
Recently, NASA announced 13 landing site candidates near the Moon’s south pole for the Artemis 3 mission, which aims to land a man and a woman on the Moon by the end of 2025. Artemis 3 targets the Moon’s south pole, an area that is particularly valuable as its shadow areas may contain water ice. Resources here could be crucial for future space exploration, as water on the Moon can be used for rocket fuel production, increasing the Moon’s potential as a gateway to more distant targets like Mars.
Naturally, NASA isn’t the only one looking to take advantage of the south pole’s resources. In an article published by the Journal of Deep Space Exploration in China, a group of researchers led by Chang’e-4 lunar mission commander Zhang He identified 10 potential landing points near the south pole. Unfortunately, there appears to be some overlap, as both NASA and Chinese researchers target areas near the Shackleton, Haworth, and Nobile craters as potential landing sites, Space News first reported. But China’s upcoming Moon mission does not include astronauts. Instead, Chang’e 7 will include a rover to explore water ice that may be trapped at the Moon’s south pole. The mission is scheduled to launch in 2024.
Finding the right landing point is difficult, as part of the Moon’s south pole is completely dark and part full of light. This light-to-dark ratio can vary over distances as small as a few kilometers, and ideally, it is desired that the spacecraft land in illuminated areas for thermal control while at the same time close enough to shaded areas where water can become trapped. So the landing site options for both NASA and the Chinese Space Agency are quite limited.
This lunar landing site mess is made all the more awkward by the fact that the US and China are at opposite ends of the Moon race with their rival space programs. Both countries aim to build their own lunar bases at the Moon’s south pole by the 2030s, and there are no signs of potential cooperation between them. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson criticized China’s approach to space, saying the country is too committed to secrecy and uncooperative in an interview with NBC aired on August 28.
A day later, Chinese media outlets criticized NASA’s lunar program after the Artemis 1 mission was delayed in launching.
Both countries are working to narrow down the list of potential landing spots as the launch date for their lunar missions approaches, but it’s not yet clear what will happen if they decide on the same region at the south pole.
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