Japan's Lunar Exploration Moon for Humankind Now, what does the Moon mean to humankind in the future? Why do we repeat the phrase "Back to the Moon" to ourselves in the start of the 21st century? During the cold war, reaching the Moon was an ideal demonstration of national power. However, what the Moon means to humankind in the 21st century can be roughly summarized as follows. (1) New base for expanding the horizon of human activities: The Moon itself provides not only a frontier for humankind but also an important base for further exploration into space (including Mars). (2) Understanding the solar system through scientific exploration of the Moon, and realizing scientific observation utilizing the lunar surface: Scientific exploration of the Moon will enable us to understand the origins of the earth and the solar system. The far side of the Moon, where no atmosphere exists and no radio waves can reach, will provide ideal sites for astronomical observation. (3) Utilization of resources & energies: Moon could supplement the resources of the earth, helping further progress of mankind. These visions are derived from the huge accumulation of data collected in the lunar exploration projects of the past including Apollo Program. It can be said that these visions are the second step which can be proposed only now when the meanings of the first step by LUNA and Apollo are mostly clarified. In decades since the major projects such as Apollo and LUNA, the technologies for space transportation and exploration have made a remarkable progress. Capacity and reliability of the control / sensor/ communication systems achieved today were all never dreamed of in the age of Apollo. Several satellites, though not so prominent as Apollo, have been launched toward the Moon, and further exploration of planets which are even more distant is also steadily in progress. Against such a background, the fact that the fundamentals of more efficient and advanced lunar exploration have been established so far is strongly accelerating the initiative "Back to the Moon". BACK (Back to the Moon) NEXT (Moon - the satellite of mysteries)
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