US Private Spaceship Lands on Moon

February 23rd, 2024

A space company from the United States has landed a spacecraft on the moon. It's a big deal because only a few countries have done this before. The lander is part of a special program with NASA, America's space agency, and the goal is to do more things on the moon. Long ago, the Soviet Union and the United States sent things to the moon. The United States even had people walk on the moon with the Apollo missions, but the last one was in 1972. Now, the United States wants to send people back to the moon in a few years. Other countries like China, Russia, India, and Japan have also tried to land on the moon. China has been very successful and wants to send people there by 2030. Russia and India had some problems but finally managed to land on the moon too. Japan had a small problem with their spacecraft, but it still worked enough to take pictures. Some private companies have tried to land their own spacecraft on the moon, but it's been very difficult. Even when things go wrong, these companies want to keep trying to send more things to the moon in the future. This work is important for learning more about the moon and space.

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💭 Discussion Questions

. Which country's space company has recently landed a spacecraft on the moon?

. What was the last year the United States had people walk on the moon?

. Why do private companies want to send spacecraft to the moon?

📖 Vocabulary

🌐 Cultural context

The United States is a country with a strong history in space exploration. NASA is their government agency for space. The moon landings are a significant part of American history and pride. Private companies in the U.S. also participate in space missions.

🧠 Further reading

Commercial Spaceflight Federation

There is a group of people who really like space. They are called the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. They want to make sure that when people travel to space for fun, it is very safe. They also share ideas on how to make space travel better and want more people from all over the world to travel to space. Long ago in 2005, some people who loved space a lot met at a place where they build space rockets. People like Elon Musk, who makes space rockets and electric cars, and others came together. They said, "We should have rules to make sure space travel is safe for everyone." These space lovers also wanted to work with the government to help space travel grow. They decided to work on a few important things like working together, talking to the government, making sure spaceports, space crews, and space vehicles are safe, having the right insurance, and telling everyone how cool space travel is. By 2008, they made a new website and changed their name to show that they really care about all kinds of space business, like sending things and people to the International Space Station.

Artemis program

The Artemis program is a space adventure led by NASA, the space agency in the United States. It started in 2017. The goal is to send people to the Moon again. The last time people went to the Moon was in 1972. In the long run, they want to make a home on the Moon. This would help us go to Mars later. This program is using some old space plans for new spaceships and rockets. It also has a space station being built and new landing systems. They are working with other space groups and companies to do this. There are many parts to the Artemis program. There are big rockets, spacecraft, and systems to land on the Moon. They also want to build a place where people can live on the Moon and use special cars and suits for the Moon. Some people have said the program might not last and have questions about the way it's planned. But they have started. They sent a ship to space with robots on November 16, 2022. More missions will come. They plan to send people in 2025 and land on the Moon in 2026. After that, they want to keep going to the Moon every year. The Artemis program has many space missions planned to happen one after the other. They will get more difficult as they go.

List of missions to the Moon

People have been sending missions to the Moon to learn more about it. The first spacecraft that hit the Moon was Luna 2 from the Soviet Union in 1959. After that, Luna 9 was the first to land softly in 1966. Luna 10 was the first to go around the Moon in orbit, and in 1968, Zond 5 took tortoises close to the Moon. The United States sent people to the Moon with the Apollo program between 1968 and 1972. Apollo 8 was the first with people to go around the Moon in 1968. Apollo 11 was the first to land people on the Moon in 1969, and Neil Armstrong was the first person to walk on it. Apollo 13 couldn't land because of a problem but they came back safely. While the United States sent people, the Soviet Union sent robots and brought back pieces of the Moon. They had three rover missions and two worked. They also tried to bring back Moon pieces 11 times and succeeded three times. Many places have sent missions to the Moon. The first were the Soviet Union and the United States. Others include Japan, Europe, China, India, and more. Some spacecraft just flew by the Moon to get help from its gravity, and a special radio telescope was put in space near the Moon too.