In the decades following Apollo, the absence of a clear rival to the United States has reduced the urgency of lunar exploration, while domestic priorities focused on lower-cost missions in low Earth orbit made sustained investment in Moon expeditions difficult. In the 2020s, however, China’s growing space capabilities have reintroduced external pressure, creating the conditions under which multiple administrations have supported a consistent lunar strategy.
Read More“Carl Sagan wrote in his 1980 bestseller Cosmos, “The Cosmos is all that is or was or ever will be. Our feeblest contemplations of the Cosmos stir us — there is a tingling in the spine, a catch in the voice, a faint sensation, as if a distant memory, of falling from a height. We know we are approaching the greatest of mysteries.” Since then, and indeed well before, humans have been captivated by the allure of space. We learn about Galileo, Newton, Kepler, and Copernicus in school. We see this fascination nearly every day reflected in the news, movies, television shows, books, and games. With new advances in science and technology, the space programs of SpaceX and Blue Origin, and the advent of the U.S. Space Force, the perpetual allure of space in the minds of humans continues.”
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