As is the current global trend, Japan has become at least the fourth country with a moon mission this year, making lunar exploration more active than it’s been in five decades. The renaissance is being led by nations not usually considered leaders of the space race, which is an important development for the entire planet.
In truth, launching a large tin can at the moon in the hopes of sticking the landing is challenging and fun, but it’s not a money maker. Anyone hoping to spin a dime is better off staying grounded and finding ways to get AI to serve up ads or create cat videos. Thankfully, human endeavor isn’t driven solely by profits.
Icky as it sounds, great adventures are more often driven by nationalism and imperial conquest. India won the latest round in August by being the first to land a spacecraft near the moon’s south pole. Tellingly, it managed the feat just days after superpower Russia failed at the same task. Since we’re keeping score, the South Asian nation now becomes the second country to have a currently operational rover on the moon behind China. On Thursday, Japan launched its HII-A rocket, which had been delayed by weather, on what it hopes could become the country’s first lunar lander.