VOA科学技术2023--Why Are Major Powers Interested in the Moon?

Why Are Major Powers Interested in the Moon?

Russia recently launched its first moon-landing spacecraft in 47 years. The launch comes during a time of competition by major powers including the United States, China and India to discover more about the resources held on the moon.

Russia said that it would launch further moon missions and then explore the possibility of a joint¹ Russian-China crewed mission and even a moon base. NASA has spoken about the possibility of moon mining and a "gold rush" - a situation in which many people go quickly to a place where something valuable has been discovered.

Why are major powers so interested in what is up there?

The moon

The moon is about 384,400 kilometers from our planet.

The current thinking is that the moon was formed when a large object crashed into earth about 4.5 billion years ago. Some of the remains² from the crash came together to form the moon.

Temperatures are diverse on the moon. In full Sun, they rise to 127 degrees Celsius³, while in darkness they drop to about minus 173 degrees Celsius. The moon's exosphere does not give protection against radiation from the Sun.

The first discovery of water on the moon was made in 2008 by the Indian mission Chandrayaan-1, which detected hydroxyl molecules⁴ spread across the moon's surface. The molecules were most commonly found at the poles, NASA says.

Water is necessary for human life and also can be a source of hydrogen and oxygen. These elements can be used for rocket fuel.

The moon also likely has Helium-3.

Helium-3 is a kind of helium that is rare on earth, but NASA reports estimates of a million tons of it on the moon.

Helium-3 could provide nuclear energy in a fusion⁵ reactor⁶. But since Helium-3 is not radioactive it would not produce dangerous waste, the European Space Agency says.

Also present on the moon are rare earth metals. Rare earth metals are used in smartphones, computers and other special technologies. Boeing, a very large American aerospace⁷ business, says the moon may have rare earth metals including candium, yttrium and the 15 lanthanides.

Moon mining

But it is not entirely⁸ clear how mining on the moon would work.

Some sort of infrastructure⁹ would have to be established on the moon. The conditions of the moon mean robots would have to do most of the hard work, though water on the moon would allow for a long-term human presence.

The laws governing moon mining are unclear and full of holes.

The United Nations 1966 Outer Space Treaty says that no nation can claim rule over the moon. In addition, the treaty says the exploration of space should be done for the good of all countries.

But lawyers say it is unclear whether or not a private business could claim rule over a part of the moon.

"Space mining is subject to relatively¹⁰ little existing policy or governance," The RAND Corporation, a research group, said on its website last year.

The UN's 1979 Moon Agreement says that no part of the moon "shall become property of any State, international intergovernmental or non-governmental organization, national organization or non-governmental entity¹¹ or of any natural person."

But, no major space power has approved the measure.

The United States in 2020 announced the Artemis Accords, named after NASA's Artemis moon program. The agreement aims to build on existing international space law by establishing "safety zones" on the moon. Russia and China have not joined in the agreement, however.

Words in This Story

diverse -- adj. different from each other

exosphere – n. the outer area of the atmosphere

infrastructure – n. the basic equipment and structures that are needed for a country or organization to function properly

entity -- n. something that exists by itself : something that is separate from other things

 

zone -- n. an area that is different from other areas in a particular way

1 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

4 molecules   

分子( molecule的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

5 fusion   

n.溶化；熔解；熔化状态，熔和；熔接

参考例句：

• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc. 黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
• This alloy is formed by the fusion of two types of metal.这种合金是用两种金属熔合而成的。

6 reactor   

n.反应器；反应堆

参考例句：

• The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy.原子反应堆发出大量的热能。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules.在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

7 aerospace   

adj.航空的，宇宙航行的

参考例句：

• The world's entire aerospace industry is feeling the chill winds of recession.全世界的航空航天工业都感受到了经济衰退的寒意。
• Edward Murphy was an aerospace engineer for the US Army.爱德华·墨菲是一名美军的航宇工程师。

8 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

9 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

10 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

11 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。