[Reading Science] Tonight, the History of Private Lunar Exploration Begins

Japan's Hakuto-R M1 Attempts Moon Landing
First in Global Private Sector
Private Moon Exploration Efforts to Intensify Over Next Decade
NASA to Support Private Sector via CLPS Program
"Positive for Scientific Exploration, May Cause Environmental Pollution"

Private space development companies have begun flocking to the Moon. In the absence of clear international regulations related to lunar development, there are concerns that reckless development or environmental pollution could occur, prompting calls for urgent measures from the international community.

The lunar lander Hakuto-R M1 developed by the Japanese private company ispace. Photo by ispace

Japanese private space development company ispace plans to land its self-developed lunar lander, 'Hakuto-R' M1, on the northwestern upper part of the Moon's surface, specifically on the southeastern outskirts of the Atlas Crater in the "Sea of Cold" region, at 12:40 PM on the 25th (Eastern Time, USA; 1:40 AM on the 26th Korean time). However, the location and date may change depending on circumstances, and the landing could be postponed to the 1st or 3rd of next month.

'Hakuto-R' M1, which means "rabbit" in Korean, was launched from Earth on December 11, 2022, aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, a private American space company, and arrived in lunar orbit on the 21st of last month. It is currently orbiting 100 km above the lunar surface. The 'Hakuto-R' M1 carries the small rover 'Rashid rover' developed by the United Arab Emirates Space Agency. This rover operates using an artificial intelligence system and multi-camera imaging system developed by Canadian companies. If Japan succeeds in this mission, it will become the fourth country to successfully land on the Moon, following the United States, the former Soviet Union, and China. ispace has been rapidly growing, including its listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on the 12th. It plans to conduct its second and third lunar landing explorations as early as 2024-2025. This mission is particularly notable as it marks the first lunar venture by a 'private company.' ispace, a Japanese private space startup, is conducting this 'purely private business' at the request of the UAE government.

The international scientific community has mixed expectations and concerns about this first lunar venture by the 'private sector.' The international academic journal Nature reported on the 18th, "(ispace's private first lunar landing mission) marks the beginning of a new era in lunar exploration," and "from this year, commercial missions to Earth's closest neighbor will be launched by various companies and countries."

In fact, NASA plans to start a new program called the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) in the second half of this year, which will send exploration and observation equipment requested by private researchers and companies to the Moon for a fee. NASA aims to conduct more than ten CLPS missions over the next decade, delivering scientific exploration or other cargo to various lunar regions. NASA has promised to share access to the Moon with many countries. A representative example is Mexico, which is preparing the COLMENA (meaning "beehive") mission, the first lunar exploration mission in South America, developing five ultra-small unmanned rovers. American private companies' lunar exploration plans are also active. Astrobotic plans to launch the Peregrine and Griffin landers in 2023 and 2024, respectively, and other landers such as Intuitive Machines' Nova-C and Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost are under development, with about ten private lunar exploration projects underway.

Some collaborations with other countries are also included. A radiation detector developed by the German Aerospace Center will be launched. This will be the second radiation observation device installed on the Moon, following China's Chang'e-4 lander. South Korea is also collaborating. The Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI), together with Kyung Hee University, developed the Lunar Space Environment Monitor (LUSEM) for detecting high-energy particles. LUSEM is scheduled to be carried on Intuitive Machines' lander launching in 2024. It detects high-energy particles above 50 keV (kilo-electron volts, the work done when one electron moves against an electric potential of 1000 volts). While particles emitted from the Moon have been observed in lunar orbit and on the far side of the Moon, this will be the first observation on the near side.

India also plans to launch a lunar lander by the end of this year, and Israel's SpaceIL plans a second lunar landing attempt with Beresheet 2 in 2025. Lockheed Martin, a major player in the existing space and defense industry, has also entered the lunar exploration business. Last month, it spun off Crescent Space, based in Denver, Colorado, USA, a company developing communication and navigation satellites for infrastructure in anticipation of increased lunar exploration. Joe London, CEO of Crescent Space, said, "We have received over 100 mission proposals to go to the Moon in the next decade," adding, "The market is growing rapidly since NASA's Artemis 1 success last year."

The Rashid Rover developed by the United Arab Emirates and mounted on Japan's Hakuto-R M1 lander

Previously, Google's lunar exploration competition held from 2007 to 2018 had already ignited interest in private lunar development. Google offered a $20 million prize for the Google Lunar X Prize, but no one won the prize.

The purposes of private companies' lunar exploration are generally similar: to find water or other underground resources on the Moon and assess the potential for development. Scientists are generally positive. Maneha Anand, a planetary science professor at the Open University in the UK, said, "All lunar landing explorations will provide new opportunities for scientific research," adding, "We must keep our eyes and ears wide open." However, some express concerns that this 'lunar development rush' by private companies could lead to environmental pollution on the Moon, where humans do not yet live. Nature pointed out in its article on the 18th, "Efforts by private companies to go to space still face many failures," and "Only the United States, the former Soviet Union, and China have succeeded in lunar landings, and the lunar surface is covered with debris such as the Beresheet lander, which failed to land in 2019 by the Israeli private company SpaceIL."