The world has turned its gaze back to the moon. This time the motivations are different from the chest-thumping geopolitics that defined the Apollo era. Half a century ago, lunar missions were about flags and footprints. Today, the moon is being reimagined as a place to live, work and return to.
At the heart of this renewed interest lies a discovery that changed everything: water ice, locked away in the moon’s permanently shadowed polar craters. It is the key to human presence beyond earth. Water can be consumed, split into oxygen for breathing, and converted into hydrogen and oxygen for rocket fuel. In one stroke, the moon shifted from being a distant destination to a functional outpost.
Unlike the Apollo missions, the current generation of lunar exploration is designed around permanence. Scientists now speak of surface habitats, reusable landers, robotic-human collaboration and infrastructure that can support long stays. The moon is no longer viewed as the end goal but as a proving ground—especially for future human missions to Mars. Several countries, including the US, China and India, are racing to establish a presence there, and it is driven by both scientific ambition and commercial opportunity.
It has been more than 50 years since NASA last sent humans to the moon. The last Apollo mission, Apollo 17, returned in 1972, closing an extraordinary chapter in human exploration. Now, NASA’s Artemis programme is preparing to reopen it. Artemis I, launched in 2022, was an uncrewed test flight that sent the Orion spacecraft around the moon and safely back to earth, proving that the core systems could withstand the journey. The next mission, Artemis II, marks a crucial turning point. For the first time in over half a century, four astronauts are travelling beyond low-earth orbit, loop around the moon and returning home after a roughly ten-day voyage.
Though Artemis II is not landing on the lunar surface, it is taking humans farther from earth than any previous crewed mission. It is, in essence, a full-dress rehearsal—testing life-support systems, navigation, communications and human endurance in deep space. The astronauts eat, sleep and work together in confined quarters as they orbit the moon in the Orion capsule. Leading the mission is Commander Reid Wiseman. Victor Glover, the first African-American in a moon mission, serves as pilot. Christina Koch, a mission specialist, is the first woman in a moon mission, while Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen represents the international nature of the programme.
The Space Launch System, or SLS, is one of the most powerful rockets ever built and higher than a 30-storey building. While the SLS is single-use, the Orion spacecraft is built for reuse, marking a departure from the expendable designs of the Apollo era. Future Artemis missions will also rely on reusable lunar landers, including SpaceX’s Starship, a move that reflects a broader shift towards sustainability and cost efficiency in spaceflight.
Space analyst Girish Linganna said the science objectives had evolved just as dramatically as the technology. “When we get this water ice, we can use it to make oxygen and fuel right on the moon itself—this is called in-situ resource utilisation. This way, we don’t have to carry everything from earth, which is very expensive,” he said. The earlier missions, he said, explored limited regions, whereas the current missions would study diverse terrains, particularly around the south pole. The Apollo programme returned a total of 382kg of lunar rock. New missions plan to bring back many times more, offering deeper insights into the moon’s geological history. India’s proposed Chandrayaan-4 mission, for instance, is designed to collect samples and bring them to earth, further expanding our understanding of lunar origins.
The contrast between early lunar missions and today’s efforts is stark. Apollo and the Soviet Luna missions were essentially exploratory—plant a flag and return. More recent missions reflect a maturing ambition. India’s Chandrayaan-3 achieved a historic soft landing near the moon’s south pole, while China’s Chang’e-4 became the first mission to reach the lunar far side. Artemis programme takes this progression further, focusing on human exploration of the polar regions, where water ice is abundant and sunlight patterns are favourable for long-term operations.
Lunar exploration has always produced benefits far beyond space science. Technologies developed for the harsh conditions of space routinely find their way into everyday life on earth. Space blankets, lightweight composite materials, advanced batteries and fuel cells, telemedicine tools, improved food safety systems and even techniques for 3D-printed construction all trace their origins to space research. As resources on earth face increasing strain, the moon’s potential as a supplementary resource base—particularly its water ice—adds another layer of relevance.
Recurring missions also allow scientists to test instruments repeatedly, refine techniques and conduct long-term studies that were impossible during the Apollo era. The moon’s surface preserves a record of the early solar system, relatively untouched by erosion or tectonic activity. Studying lunar soil helps scientists reconstruct the history of both the moon and earth, offering clues about planetary formation and evolution.
Kshitij Mall, assistant professor of mechanical, aerospace and biomedical engineering at the University of South Alabama, describes Artemis as a shift from exploration to sustained science. “Apollo was about touching down and proving capability. Artemis is about longer duration presence in complex terrains, particularly the south pole. The missions plan to make the moon the next Antarctica in terms of scientific exploration,” he said.
Mall also emphasises the moon’s role as a testbed for future Mars missions. Technologies for building habitats, maintaining life-support systems and operating in reduced gravity can all be trialled closer to home. “The moon can serve as a spaceport between earth and Mars, enabling more economical and less risky human missions to Mars,” he said.
That sense of unfinished business resonates strongly with those involved in the new lunar push. Sam Richards, director of UK-based Meridian Space Command, said that Apollo was never meant to be the end of the story. “We never really finished with the moon; we just paused. What’s changed is that the moon is no longer seen as a one-off destination, but as a place where we can operate repeatedly, build infrastructure and learn how to live beyond earth,” he said.
Technologies developed to extract resources in extreme environments can be adapted for use in deserts, mountains and disaster-stricken regions on earth. Advances in water recycling, energy efficiency and autonomous systems directly address some of humanity’s most pressing challenges. “What we learn from the moon helps us here on earth and makes our future more interesting and safe,” said Linganna.
Repeated missions deepen that learning. The moon’s ancient surface records billions of years of cosmic impacts, providing a timeline of events that also affected earth. Studying the origin and distribution of lunar water sheds light on how earth acquired its own oceans. Long-duration stays allow astronauts to test closed-loop systems for air, water and food, technologies that could transform life in isolated or resource-poor regions on earth. Instruments placed on the moon can also measure seismic activity and internal heat, improving our understanding of planetary interiors.
Madhu Thangavelu, lecturer at the University of Southern California, described the moon as a planetary archive. Quoting Buzz Aldrin’s famous phrase, he called it a “magnificent desolation” that preserved records lost on earth due to weathering. “There are solar activity records and past happenings spanning billions of years that can help protect us from space hazards like asteroids and solar storms,” he said. He credited India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission with reigniting global interest, noting that today’s technology and international partnerships make exploration far more capable than before.
The relevance of lunar missions extends even to global development goals. Claire A. Nelson, a White House Champion of Change and founder of The Futures Forum, argued that living on the moon demanded mastery of survival under extreme scarcity. Technologies developed for lunar habitats—ultra-efficient solar power, atmospheric water harvesting and closed-loop sanitation—can be adapted for communities facing similar constraints on earth. Waste management on the moon forces a circular economy where everything is reused, recycled or repurposed, driving innovations that could transform sustainability efforts.
Yet the romance of lunar exploration is tempered by challenges. Astronauts face increased radiation exposure, abrasive lunar dust that can damage equipment and lungs, and the psychological strain of isolation and confinement. Communication delays, disrupted sleep cycles and the absence of familiar earthly rhythms can take a toll. NASA addresses these risks through extensive training, specialised suits, radiation shielding and mission planning. Orion includes a storm shelter for solar events, and astronauts wear protective vests. Missions are timed to minimise radiation exposure, and solar activity is closely monitored.
The human experience of the moon is unlike any other. Srimathy Kesan, founder of SpaceKidz India, recalled a conversation with Apollo 16 astronaut Charlie Duke, who described lunar walking as controlled falling and spoke of the profound psychological silence of the surface. She sees a deeper cultural resonance. “For women, the connection to the moon transcends science—it’s physiological, historical and symbolic,” she said. Her Chennai-based organisation is planning ShakthiSAT, a mission that will involve 12,000 girls from 108 countries in building a satellite.
The moon’s role as a stepping stone to Mars remains central to long-term planning. “The moon gives us a nearby testing ground where we can practise surviving and working in a harsh environment, from life-support systems to resource management. Once we master living on the moon, we’ll be better prepared for Mars and able to identify and fix problems before sending people much farther from earth,” said Christina Korp, astronaut manager and founder of SPACE for a Better World.
Mars is six to nine months away, making emergency returns impossible. The moon allows astronauts to practise living off-earth, learning to grow food, recycle water and repair equipment autonomously. A future lunar gateway—a space station orbiting the moon—will act as a staging point, storing fuel and supplies and enabling reusable missions between earth and the lunar surface. “The moon is our training ground for reaching Mars,” said Linganna.
Few people understand the evolution of lunar exploration better than Mylswamy Annadurai, former ISRO scientist known as the ‘Moon Man of India’. Reflecting on the renewed global interest, he notes that the moon was never fully understood, even after Apollo and Luna. Chandrayaan-1, he said, transformed lunar science by mapping the moon with unprecedented resolution and confirming the presence of water. “Nations are now returning to the moon because it has shifted from being a symbolic destination to becoming a strategic, scientific and economic asset,” said Annadurai. For him, Artemis represents a philosophical shift. “Apollo was a bold sprint; Artemis is a sustainable expedition,” he said.
Ultimately, the rediscovery of water ice changed everything. Before its confirmation, the moon was a place to visit and leave. Now it is a place where humans can stay. Water enables life, fuel and industry. It lowers costs, opens commercial possibilities and supports the vision of a permanent human presence. Mining minerals, establishing research stations and even developing space-based economies no longer belong solely to science fiction.