Chandrayaan 3 Heralds Lunar Economy

Editor’s Note

Economic activities based on resources that could be unearthed tomorrow in Moon, are yet in an embryonic state. However, the possibility is being researched and ideated in multiple forums. This article delves into such probabilities and identifies certain conditions that will need to be created and a few areas where such activities can be extended to.

India has a rich heritage in Space. On 23 August, 2023, India’s unmanned mission to Moon – Chandrayaan 3, successfully landed a Lunar rover “Vikram” approximately 600 km near the South Pole, on the near side of the Moon at coordinates 69.36 degrees South and 32.34 degrees East. The aim was to get as close to the South Pole as possible to a “permanently shadowed region” or where sunlight does not reach, with the aim to increase the chances of encountering frozen water-ice and other “harvestable resources” of the Moon with a view to herald “lunar economy.” 

Lunar economy encompasses all economic activity associated with production, use and exchange of lunar resources on Moon’s surface, in lunar orbit and on Earth. It also includes tourism.

Today’s space race is a far cry from the two-horse race between Soviet Russia and USA and countries are vying for sustained long term presence on Moon. In future, lunar missions will witness both countries and private companies attempting long term infrastructure on the Moon’s surface, in lunar orbit and on Earth. 

To develop lunar economy, Pentagon of US has invited private companies under the LunA-10 project, to identify and build “foundational technologies” that will be necessary to build lunar economy.

Foundational technologies to assure long term sustained human presence on Moon and its orbit will require a Lunar Communications and Navigation network on the Moon.  Electricity, Oxygen and Water will be needed for humans, research and commercial activities. Hydrogen will be required to be used as fuel. In case abundant Water can be harvested than Oxygen and Hydrogen can be separated from it to sustain humans and to act as fuel. 

Permanent lunar presence will also require building of roads, habitats, and machinery to build these, not only with material transported from Earth but more from processing and using material extracted from Moon to ensure that its economical. 

Needed too will be transport and logistics to connect the various human settlements on Moon and the commercial activity areas. Storage for supplies to sustain humans on Moon and to store minerals excavated from Moon’s surface, will also need to be built. 

Habitats which will protect humans from the harsh conditions encountered in lunar orbit and on lunar surface and to negate the lack of Oxygen, large temperature differences, radiation, impacts from meteorites will be vital, for long term human presence.

Long term human presence will necessitate technology which will enable food production on Lunar surface or on its orbit. Associated with this is the technology required for waste management, to keep the environment of living and of work, safe.

Good health of humans living on lunar surface for a long period of time will require technology to constantly monitor health of the humans, as also diagnostics and treatment, which should be linked to earth in real time, to enable timely assistance in not only for consultation but also to conduct important lifesaving procedures such as robotic tele surgery.

Lunar habitants will require education and entertainment and technology, both in the realm of augmented and virtual which too needs to be developed. This will be a vital component in Lunar tourism too.

To reduce human exposure away from their habitats, the infrastructure to be developed on Moon need to be ‘smart infrastructure’ which can connect, automate, and remotely conduct routine human activities on Moon. Harvesting of resources, their processing, packaging, and transportation are activities which are envisaged to be automated with humans controlling the activities from a safe habitat. The smart infrastructure should also be able foretell dangers and activate disaster relief agencies when an emergency happens. 

More than 400 missions are forecast to be launched to the Moon between 2022 and 2032 including scientific, robotic, and human crewed missions by various governmental and private space agencies. Many of these missions will test the “foundational technologies” which are a prerequisite before humans move to Moon to conduct research, harvest the lunar resources, use Moon as staging post for further space exploration or for tourism.  NASA’ s Artemis is one such effort.

NASA’s Artemis 2 mission is planned to be a manned test flight around the Moon with a crew of four including a woman astronaut. Artemis 2, like the unmanned Artemis 1, will comprise of a Space Launch System (SLS) and a spacecraft Orion which will enter the Lunar orbit. Artemis 2 will send Orion on a free trajectory around the Moon and both will return to Earth, individually. The mission is planned to be launched by November 2024.

US plans to send Artemis 3 mission for its first manned lunar landing since Apollo 17 in 1972. Prior to the launch of the mission, many support missions will be launched. One such support mission will place Starship Human Landing System (HLS) in a Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit (NRHO) of the Moon. After the HLS reaches the NHRO, the Artemis 3 SLS will boost the Orion to rendezvous and dock with the HLS. Then two out of four astronauts will be transferred from Orion to HLS and they will descend on Moon and stay on lunar surface for six and a half days. During this period, they will carry out minimum two Extravehicular activity (EVA). EVA is an activity done by an astronaut in outer space, outside the space craft. Astronauts will then return to Orion on the HLS and Orion will transport all the four members back to Earth. The mission is planned for December 2025. 

Artemis 4 is being planned in 2028 and will be manned landing mission. Prior to launch one or two Lunar Gateway will be placed in NHRO where the Orion will dock. Lunar Gateway will be the first planned space station which will be placed in Lunar orbit and will be a solar powered communication hub, a science laboratory, a short-term habitation for astronauts, and a holding area for HLS, rovers and other robots.  It’s being jointly developed by NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and is expected to be in NHRO by September 2028.

Artemis 5 mission is being planned for 2029. It will deliver four astronauts to the Gateway space station, ESA’s ESPRIT refuelling and communication module, CSA’S Canadian built Robotic Arm System (Canadarm) and NASA’s Lunar Terrain Vehicle. Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander will be used to transport the astronaut to the lunar surface. 

Most of the support missions of Artemis program such as robotic landers, delivery of Gateway modules, replenishment of Gateway, delivery of HLS will be done by private agencies. SpaceX will provide the first two HLS. Blue Origin will deliver the third HLS. The first two Gateway modules will be delivered by Falcon Heavy launcher of SpaceX. Gateways will be resupplied by Dragon XL spacecraft which will remain attached with Gateway for six months. Dragon XL spacecrafts will be launched by Falcon Heavy rockets.

Foreseeing a “race to Moon” in near future, which may turn violent, threatening “total war” encompassing earth and space, USA took the initiative and drew up an accord in 2020 known as the Artemis Accord. This accord builds on the UN Outer Space Treaty 1967 and aims to lay down norms for setting common principles to govern civil exploration and use of outer space, the Moon, Mars, comets, and asteroids, for peaceful purposes. 

The Accord emphasises on Common Exploration Infrastructure to enhance scientific discovery and commercial utilization. 

On Data Sharing, it aims to openly share in a timely manner but private sectors are exempt unless acting on behalf of a signatory. To preserve human’s heritage in space, it aims to preserve historical landing sites and artefacts and evidence of the evolution of the celestial bodies. 

The Accord envisages utilization of space resources through safe and sustainable activities and noninterference with other signatories’ activities. The signatories need to agree on safe disposal of spacecrafts and equipment which will disposed of in space on completion of their task and to limit generation of harmful debris.

On 21st June 2023, India became the 27th nation to ink this non-binding Accord.

India’s Vikram has begun to reconnoitrer Moon’s surface as a forerunner to development of “lunar economy”, heralding a new chapter, which will inspire many private companies which have joined the 2021 Government of India initiative of setting up Indian Space Agency, which aims to open Indian Space industry to private companies and startups, to do research in development of lunar economy.

Chandrayaan 3 was unique in human history. India became the fourth nation to successfully touch down on lunar surface after Russia, USA, and China. For India it was a moment similar to the Apollo 11 moment on 21 July 1969 for the US and the rest of the world when the first human being stepped on the lunar surface. Chandrayaan 3 too will surely have a similar impact in India, and help it take strides in the area of Lunar economy.

Col RN Ghosh Dastidar (Retd)