LONDON, England (CNN) -No space programs have captured the public imagination quite like NASA’ s exploration of the moon in the early 1970s. Now, earth’ s satellite is in national space agencies’ sights again.
Japan has a long-term goal of establishing a lunar base， while NASA is developing the space shuttle’ s replacement, the Orion crew exploration vehicle, to land men on the moon again by 2020.
A nascent Chinese space program has an ambitious schedule of launches in the coming years including its own desire to land a man on the moon.
So could we see a new space race emerge, with the moon as the ultimate prize? Despite the national prestige associated, the costs involved for a solo tilt at the moon and beyond are prohibitive, so international co-operation rather than competition is more likely to be the feature of the future. 【B1】
Earlier this year Russia and China announced an agreement to cooperate on a lunar exploration; talks of cooperation between NASA and the China National Space Administration have begun, as well as linking up with India’ s burgeoning space program.
A lunar base then could be truly international and provide the perfect place to launch farther interplanetary exploration as well as an ideal laboratory to study the mysteries of the cosmos. 【B2】
With some parts in perpetual sunlight, the conditions would be ideal for continuous solar power, while the shadows in the rims of craters provide the smothering darkness perfect for deep space astronomy with high powered radio telescopes. 【B3】
Beyond earth’ s satellite though, lies Mars, the planet that has captured the imagination of both enthusiasts and professionals. 【B4】
“In thirty years’ time we’ ll probably have a large colony on the moon and the first bases on Mars, “ futurist and Nominating Committee member Ian Pearson told CNN, and his optimism is matched by many other experts and scientists grappling with the challenges of getting a manned mission to the Red Planet by 2020. 【B5】
“We’ re better prepared for a journey to Mars now than we were when we sent men to the moon in the 1960s, ” says Robert Zubrin, director of the Mars Society. “There have been 15 successful probes to the Red Planet - in fact we know more about it than the American pioneers knew about the western frontier. ”