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<br /><ul><li>The National Aeronautics and Space Agency (<keyword id="6360409" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nasa">NASA</keyword>) has put out new guidelines to keep the Moon and Mars from getting infected with germs from Earth. </li><li>The permanently shadowed region of the Moon, in particular, has been designated a ‘sensitive location’.</li><li>The International Space Station (ISS) will continue to be a testbed to prepare for human missions to Mars. </li></ul>The National Aeronautics and Space Agency (<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-updates-planetary-protection-policies-for-robotic-and-human-missions-to-earth-s-moon">NASA</a>) has issued new guidelines to protect the Moon and Mars from ‘terrestrial contamination’ as the number of missions is set to increase in the near future.<br /><br /><strong>Protecting the far side of the Moon<br /></strong>The far side of the moon, or the ‘permanently shadowed regions’ have been designated ‘sensitive locations’. According to observations made by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), they lie between the latitudes of 79 degrees north and 86 degrees north.<br /><br />  <div type="image" title="artemis_nasa" msid="76906201" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Illustration of Artemis astronauts on the Moon&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div><br /><a href="https://nodis3.gsfc.nasa.gov/OPD_docs/NID_8715_128_.pdf">NASA</a> asserts that these areas “of significant interest relative to the process of chemical evolution,” which is why the reporting of biological materials is warranted. <br /><br />"We are enabling our important goal of sustainable exploration of the Moon while simultaneously safeguarding future science in the permanently shadowed regions," said Thomas Zurbuchen, the associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.<br /><br /><strong>How NASA plans to protect the Moon from Earth's germs<br /></strong>Anyone or anything going to Moon is now required to provide an inventory of biological materials — living and dead — included in spacecraft hardware and payloads. <br /><br />Crewed missions, like the Artemis mission scheduled for 2024, will have to provide a list of the amount and disposition of biological materials — including waste — that will remain in the lunar environment.<br /><br />  <div type="image" title="artemis_nasa2_edited" msid="76906222" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Illustration of Artemis astronauts on the Moon&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div><br /><strong>Parts of the Moon that don’t need safeguards<br /></strong>Other areas of the moon are “Not of direct interest for understanding the process of chemical evolution,” said NASA adding that exploring these wouldn’t be jeopardised by ‘terrestrial contamination’. <br /><br />“No protection of such regions is warranted,” it added. However, when it comes to the Apollo landing site and other lunar historic sites — they are to be protected.<br /><br /><strong>Protecting Mars<br /></strong>The International Space Sation (ISS) will be used as testbed to prepare for human missions to Mars. But for now, there aren’t any permanent guidelines in place. “NASA will develop risk-informed decision making implementation strategies for human missions to Mars, which account for and balance the needs of human space exploration, science, commercial activities, ad safety,” said the space agency in its <a href="https://nodis3.gsfc.nasa.gov/OPD_docs/NID_8715_129_.pdf">directive</a>.<br /><br />  <div type="image" title="mars_astronaut_edited" msid="76906238" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Illustration of astronauts on the Mars&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div><br /><strong>How NASA plans to protect Mars from Earth's germs</strong><ul><li>Develop capabilities to monitor biological processes associated with the human presence in space exploration and to evaluate changes over time</li><li>Work on technologies for mitigating contamination release or intrusion, potentially including closed-loop systems; cleaning/re-cleaning capabilities; quarantine, support systems, and biological waste disposal that minimize impact of humans on the environment of Mars</li><li>Create an understanding of environmental processes on Mars that would contribute to transport and sterilization of terrestrial organisms released by human activity.</li></ul>NASA highlighted that if there are gaps between what knowledge they have now and what may be needed in the future, it will undertake a program of activities to bridge that gap. <br /><br /><strong>SEE ALSO:<br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/isro-doesnt-know-when-it-will-be-ready-to-restart-space-launches/articleshow/76891134.cms">ISRO doesn't know when it will be ready to restart space launches</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/news/nasa-picks-4-us-small-businesses-to-build-artemis-lunar-tech/articleshow/76868578.cms">NASA picks 4 US small businesses to build Artemis lunar tech</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/news/nasas-next-mars-rover-attached-to-rocket-before-july-30-launch/articleshow/76889015.cms">NASA's next Mars rover attached to rocket before July 30 launch</a></strong><br />

NASA issues new guidelines to protect the Moon and Mars from Earth's germs

<ul><li>The COSMA supercomputer was used to create 3D simulations of what would happen to a planet’s atmosphere due to giant impacts. <br /></li><li>Scientists at Durham University created 3D videos of what it would look like if an object were to come hurtling towards an Earth-like planet in the early universe. <br /></li><li>Using the results of the study, scientists estimate that the Earth got lucky with its impact that created the Moon.<br /></li></ul>A supercomputer can do many things, including creating 3D simulations of what it may look like when Earth faces a giant impact. Scientists used the COSMA supercomputer to show exactly what would happen to an Earth-like planet in the early universe if a giant object were to smash into its atmosphere.<br /><br />Planets aren’t created overnight. It takes billions of years of evolution to get the rocks and gas to come together to create what can be called a planetary body. If in the middle of that formation, something smashes into the planet before its whole — it can have wide-ranging consequences, like atmospheric loss. <br /><br />The 3D videos created by scientists at Durham University and the University of Glasgow propose two different scenarios. One, where the impact is head-on and another, with a grazing impact.<br /><br /><div type="Video" msid="77098808" hostid="261" title="Supercomputer 3D-video of head-on planetary collision" dataSource="BUSINESSINSIDER" thumbUrl="https://denmark.timesinternet.in/cmslite/api/app/images.jpg?msid=77098808"></div><em>Source: Durham University</em><br /><br />Grazing impacts, like the one that’s supposed to be the Moon’s origin story, lead to much less atmospheric loss as compared to a head-on collision, according to the study published in Astrophysical Journal.<br /><br /><div type="Video" msid="77098825" hostid="261" title="Supercomputer 3D-video of grazing planetary collision" dataSource="BUSINESSINSIDER" thumbUrl="https://denmark.timesinternet.in/cmslite/api/app/images.jpg?msid=77098825"></div><em>Source: Durham University</em><br /><br />A head-on collision is more dangerous since the impact can penetrate through to the mantle — the layer that sits just above the planet’s crust.<br /><br />  <div type="image" title="earth layers" msid="77098855" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Layers of the Earth&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div><br />Using the results of this study, the study estimates that Earth got lucky with its collision that created the Moon. The impact only managed to wipe out between 10% to 50% of its atmosphere. <br /><br />"In spite of the remarkably diverse consequences that can come from different impact angles and speeds, we've found a simple way to predict how much atmosphere would be lost,” said the lead author of the study, Jacob Kegerries. <br /><br />Going forward, the scientists will continue to carry out more varied simulations to test the effect varying masses and compositions have on the results. <br /><br /><strong>SEE ALSO:<br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/nasa-new-rules-to-protect-mars-and-moon-from-earth-germs/articleshow/76906055.cms">NASA issues new guidelines to protect the Moon and Mars from Earth's germs</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/uae-mars-mission-hope-probe-on-its-way-to-red-planet-here-is-everything-you-need-to-know/articleshow/77064837.cms">The Hope Probe is on its way to Mars — everything you need to know about the UAE’s first jump into interplanetary space</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/pictures-of-comet-neowise-in-swiss-alps-stonehenge-and-other-parts-of-the-world/slidelist/77034838.cms">IN PICS: Comet NEOWISE spotted blazing from the Stonehenge to the Swiss Alps, in skies all over the world</a><br /><br /></strong><br />

WATCH: Supercomputer generates 3D videos that show how Earth may have lost half of its atmosphere to create the Moon

<ul><li><keyword id="9531572" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="comet-neowise">Comet Neowise</keyword> will the first comet to burn bright over Earth’s skies after <keyword id="9066921" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="comet-atlas">Comet Atlas</keyword> and Swan fizzled out earlier this year. <br /></li><li>It will be visible over India for the next 20 days getting brighter each evening.<br /></li><li>Scientists at the Planetary Science Institute (PSI) are already watching the comet and observe that it has a rare sodium tail than burns the same colour as street lamps.<br /></li></ul>Comet Neowise will be visible in India’s skies for the next 20 days as it approaches the Sun for the first time in 4,500 years. It’s the third comet that astronomers were hoping would grace Earth’s skies, and the first one to live up to its promise. <br /><br />"From July 14, C/2020 F3, a comet discovered on March 27, will be clearly visible in the north-western sky. It will be visible after sunset for around 20 minutes for the next 20 days. People can observe it from naked eyes," Subhendu Pattnaik, deputy director of Pathani Samanta Planetarium in Bhubaneswar told the <a href="https://www.orissapost.com/comet-neowise-to-be-visible-in-odisha-skies-from-july-14/">OrissaPOST</a>.<br /><br />The previous two comets, Atlas and Swan, fizzled out before they could become bright enough to be seen by the naked eye. Atlas crumbed to pieces before reaching Earth and Swan was made up of gas, resulting in a much dimmer view than expected.<br /><br />Comet Neowise, on the other hand, will be burning in a blaze of glory in the skies above India — getting brighter each day — before it disappears for another 6,800 years.<br /><br /><strong>They’ve already caught its tail<br /></strong>Scientists at the Planetary Science Institute (PSI) are already watching the comet with a hawk-eye. According to them, Neowise has a sodium tail — something that’s only been observed in very bright comets, such as Hale-Bopp and the sungrazer ISON<br /><br /><div type="image" title="fp_Neowise_Carl" msid="76953333" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Left: light reflected off of cometary dust, which generally follows the appearance to the naked eye. Right: light emitted by sodium atoms.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div><br />Unlike the <keyword id="9571123" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="comet-tail">comet tail</keyword> that we see down on Earth, Neowise’s sodium tail is narrower, longer and points directly away from the Sun making it very difficult to catch on camera.<br /><br />"Atomic sodium responds to sunlight in a similar way to cometary dust, but its momentum kick comes from a very particular wavelength of yellow light – the same colour seen in sodium vapour street lamps," said Planetary Science Institute Senior Scientist <a href="https://psi.edu/news/neowisesodiumtail">Jeffrey Morgenthaler</a>.<br /><br />Comets are essentially icy dirtballs. Their tails are made up of dust, gas and plasma — ionised gas. As they approach the sun, the heat from the sunlight causes the ice to turn into gas. As the gas escapes, it drags ‘material’ — what we Earthlings refer to as dust — with it. <br /><br />As sunlight reflects off the dust, the momentum causes it to drift away from the Sun. However, some of the bigger pieces don’t just float away. The heavier bits stick around and form the tail of the comet. As the light gets re-emitted in a random direction, we catch the view of the comet’s tail down on Earth. <br /><br /><strong>SEE ALSO:<br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/news/3-missions-to-mars-launch-this-month-from-nasa-china-and-the-united-arab-emirates-heres-what-theyll-do-on-the-red-planet/articleshow/76949688.cms">3 missions to Mars launch this month, from NASA, China, and the United Arab Emirates — here's what they'll do on the red planet</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/nasa-new-rules-to-protect-mars-and-moon-from-earth-germs/articleshow/76906055.cms">NASA issues new guidelines to protect the Moon and Mars from Earth's germs</a><br /><br /></strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/nasas-latest-pictures-from-mars-are-fascinating-showing-where-the-curiosity-rover-is-headed-next/articleshow/76825564.cms"><strong>NASA's latest pictures from Mars are fascinating — showing where the Curiosity rover is headed next</strong></a><br />

Comet Neowise will burn bright over India for the next 20 days after two earlier comets fizzled out

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qo78R_yYFA">SpaceX/YouTube</a></span></p><p class="caption">An illustration of SpaceX colonists landing on Mars.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Elon Musk <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-spacex-mars-colony-talk-iac-2016-9">unveiled SpaceX's plan on Tuesday</a> for humans to colonize Mars by 2022. The idea is to load 100 people into a spaceship just smaller than the Washington Monument, blast them to the Red Planet in a matter of months, then land gingerly on the surface and set up a permanent settlement.</p><p>It's that last bit some scientists are a little <a href="http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/mars/mars_crew.html">squeamish</a> <a href="http://www.lpi.usra.edu/publications/reports/CB-1089/lupisella.pdf">about</a>.</p><p>Space agencies all over this world have meticulously protected other planets from Earth's germs for decades. NASA even has an entire department dedicated to the task, aptly named the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/06/science/mars-catharine-conley-nasa-planetary-protection-officer.html">Office of Planetary Protection</a>.</p><p>If we do find alien life, NASA wants to make sure it's actually alien, and not some Earthling (likely bacteria) that hitched a ride on one of its spacecraft. That's why you always see people building spacecraft wearing white plastic suits in cleanrooms making sure the spacecraft stays immaculate.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qo78R_yYFA">SpaceX/YouTube</a></span></p><p class="caption">An illustration of the Interplanetary Transport System - the spaceship SpaceX plans to take humans to Mars in - refueling in orbit.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Musk doesn't seem worried about infecting Martians - which he won't be at all surprised to find.</p><p>"There's really nothing on the surface of Mars, I think," the SpaceX CEO said during a press call Tuesday evening. "There may be <a href="https://www.uni-muenster.de/imperia/md/content/planetologie/pdf/hiesinger/144494/2005je002430.pdf">subterranean, chemotrophic bacteria</a>. I would expect they're pretty hardy, and there's not much that we could do to kick them out even if we wanted to."</p><p>As Emily Lakdawalla wrote for The Planetary Society, the organization Bill Nye heads that has proposed humans orbit Mars first and think about landing later, Earthlings are notoriously germy.</p><p>"If we keep our filthy meatbag bodies in space and tele-operate sterile robots on the surface, we'll avoid irreversible contamination of Mars - and obfuscation of the answer to the question of whether we're alone in the solar system - for a little while longer," <a href="http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2015/09281219-nasas-mars-announcement.html">Lakdawalla wrote in a 2015 blog post</a>. "Maybe just long enough for robots to taste Martian water or discover Martian life."</p><h2>What a human Mars mission could look like</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qo78R_yYFA">SpaceX/YouTube</a></span></p><p class="caption">An illustration of SpaceX's Interplanetary Transport System heading to Mars.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>On the flip side, alien Martian life could be just as dangerous to humans as we could be to it, which is another argument scientists make for keeping missions sterile. NASA has been <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-mars-mission-with-humans-plan-2016-4">planning a human mission to Mars</a>, and the agency has of course weighed the risks of contaminating astronauts, or the planet they might land on.</p><p>Agency scientists who <a href="http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20050245096.pdf">studied the issue in 2005 concluded</a>: "All operations of an initial human mission to Mars should include isolation of humans from any direct contact with materials from Mars for planetary protection purposes."</p><p>That means a NASA trip likely wouldn't look like the one in the 2015 blockbuster, "<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3659388/">The Martian</a>," with Mark Watney growing potatoes, suitless inside an oxygen-filled habitat, on the planet's surface.</p><p>The SpaceX colony would probably look a lot different, too, and be much more permanent. Musk spoke about the distant possibility of growing plants on the Red Planet if they change the atmosphere, or even creating oceans <a href="http://www.techinsider.io/nasas-big-mars-mystery-announcement-will-be-about-water-2015-9">where water used to flow millions of years ago</a>.</p><p>He wouldn't be the one to make the decision to change Mars so it looks more like Earth in a process called terraforming, though.</p><p>"Terraforming would take us a long period of time, and I think, would ultimately be the decision of the people on Mars. We have to get there in the first place," Musk said. "The larger point is creating a self-sustained civilization on Mars to provide insurance for life as a whole - life as we know it."</p><h2>'Out there among the stars'</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>SpaceX/YouTube</span></p><p class="caption">Elon Musk presenting SpaceX's human missions to Mars at the 67th International Astronautical Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Musk kept repeating this phrase, "life as we know it," which seems to basically mean "not aliens." And that is the difference between Musk's ideas and those of scientists who want to keep space free of Earth's scourge - he's prioritizing "life as we know it."</p><p>"I think, really, the planet we should be considering for protection is Earth," he said. "We can bring life as we know it, and breathe life into Mars where it doesn't exist today, and ensure that if there is some kind of cataclysmic event on Earth, that life as we know it continues to exist."</p><p>Musk's defense for sending humans to colonize Mars may not convince some scientists, but it sure is poetic:</p><p>"I think a future where we are a space-faring civilization and out there among the stars is infinitely more exciting and inspiring than one where we are not."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-mars-risks-death-spacex-2016-9"> Elon Musk on going to Mars - 'The probability of death is quite high'</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="9qcTQ1NjE66MYero-U8mIC4RFCvb1NRf" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

Elon Musk expects to find aliens on Mars and isn't concerned

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/galleries/viking-in-the-oven">NASA</a></span></p><p class="caption">One of NASA's twin Viking Mars landers being placed in an oven to be sterilized for its mission to the surface of the red planet.</p></div><p></p></div></div>When NASA posted a job description for its "planetary protection officer" role, the space agency was fishing for candidates with advanced degrees and experience working on interplanetary missions.</p><p>What it did not expect, however, was an earnest letter from nine-year-old Jack Davis: a fourth-grader who wrote the space agency asking if he could apply.</p><p>The new job opening, which Business Insider first publicized in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-planetary-protection-officer-job-opening-2017-7">a story on Tuesday</a>, pays up to $187,000 and is for NASA's one and only full-time planetary protection officer - a role established in 1967.</p><p>The role is not only responsible for protecting alien worlds like Europa (an icy, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/earth-water-ice-volume-versus-planets-moons-2016-11">ocean-hiding</a>, and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/europa-water-jet-hubble-telescope-photos-2016-9">potentially habitable</a> moon of Jupiter) from germs on human-launched spacecraft, but also defending the Earth from contamination by alien microbes.</p><p>But enamored by the possibilities, Davis - a self-described "Guardian of the Galaxy" - summoned the courage to write and address a letter to NASA on Thursday.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/planetary-protection-excites-space-fans-of-all-ages">NASA</a></span></p><p class="caption">A nine-year-old's letter to NASA asking to apply to be a planetary protection officer.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p> </p><p>The full text of Davis' letter, which NASA posted in a <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/planetary-protection-excites-space-fans-of-all-ages" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">press release on Friday</a>, reads:</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">"Dear NASA,</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">My name is Jack Davis and I would like to apply for the planetary protection officer job. I may be nine but I think I would be fit for the job. One of the reasons is my sister says I am an alien. Also, I have seen almost all the space movies and alien movies I can see. I have also seen the show Marvel Agents of Shield and hope to see the movie Men in Black. I am great at vidieo [sic] games. I am young, so I can learn to think like an alien.</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">Sincerely,<br />Jack Davis<br />Guardian of the Galaxy<br />Fourth Grade"</p><p>The space agency could have easily dismissed the letter with a chuckle, but planetary <keyword id="41551" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="science">science</keyword> director Jim Green decided to type, sign, and mail a note back to Davis.</p><p>Here's a screenshot of Green's letter:</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/planetary-protection-excites-space-fans-of-all-ages">NASA</a></span></p><p class="caption">NASA's response to a nine-year-old's application to be a planetary protection officer.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The full text reads:</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">"Dear Jack,</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">I hear you are a 'Guardian of the Galaxy' and that you're interested in being a NASA Plantary Protection Officer. That's great!</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">Our Plantary Protection Officer position is really cool and is very important work. It's about protecting Earth from tiny microbes when we bring back samples from the Moon, asteroids and Mars. It's also about protecting other planets and moons from our germs as we responsibly explore the Solar System.</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">We are always looking for bright future scientists and engineers to help us, so I hope you will study hard and do well in school. We hope to see you here at NASA one of these days!</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">Sincerely,<br />Dr. James L. Green<br />Director, Planetary Science Division"</p><p>The space agency didn't stop there, however.</p><p>Jonathan Rall - NASA's planetary research director - also rang up Davis "to congratulate him on his interest in the position," NASA said in the release.</p><p>"Although the Planetary Protection Officer position may not be in real-life what the title conjures up, it does play an important role in promoting the responsible exploration of our solar system by preventing microbial contamination of other planets and our own," NASA added.</p><p>NASA is accepting applications <a href="https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/474414000/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">at USAJobs.gov</a> from July 13 through August 14.</p><p><strong>Read our <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-planetary-protection-officer-job-opening-2017-7">full story about the gig here</a>.</strong></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/stephen-hawking-warning-space-aliens-seti-2016-12">Stephen Hawking warned us about contacting aliens, but this astronomer says it's 'too late'</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="RzeTAyNjE6gtR_2DvSKCIS3S7yEAsIlS" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

A 9-year-old asked NASA for a job defending Earth from aliens - and the space agency personally responded

<ul><li>National <keyword id="5459195" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Moon-Day">Moon Day</keyword> commemorates the first time humanity landed on the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission. </li><li>51 years down the line the conversation around the Moon is no longer about exploration but about ownership. </li><li>The increased knowledge about the kind of resources the Moon has and what that could mean for deeper space exploration has everyone wanting a piece of the pie.</li></ul>National Moon Day may only be celebrated in the United States but it marks a moment that is a milestone for all of humanity. National Moon Day commemorates the time Neil Armstrong landed on the lunar surface followed by his first steps saying, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”<br /><br />Come 2020, nearly five decades have passed since humans visited the Moon last. The last crewed mission to the Moon was on 7 December 1972 — not that space agencies across the world have softened their resolve. <br /><br />        <div type="Video" msid="50849861" hostid="261" title="This is why no one can legally own the Moon" dataSource="BUSINESSINSIDER" thumbUrl="https://denmark.timesinternet.in/cmslite/api/app/images.jpg?msid=50849861"></div><br />Everyone wants a piece of the pie when it come to the Moon, including private companies like Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ Blue Orbit and <keyword id="6355315" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="elon-musk">Elon Musk</keyword>’s SpaceX. Both companies are also working alongside the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (<keyword id="6360409" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nasa">NASA</keyword>) to launch Artemis by 2024.<br /><br />    <div type="image" title="nasa landing system_edited" msid="77063368" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Artist&amp;#39;s representation of the NASA Human Landing System being built in cooperation with Blue Origin, Lockheed Martin, Northop Group and Draper for the Artemis Moon mission&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div><br /><strong>The Moon is now about property rights, not just exploration<br /></strong>The <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-encouraging-international-support-recovery-use-space-resources/">US government</a> recently brought back the issue of property rights on the Moon. This is largely because enough scientific findings have concluded that there are minerals and chemicals on the Moon that could help companies save a fortune back on Earth. <br /><br />    <div type="image" title="apollo 11_edited" msid="77063287" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Apollo 11 takes off from Floriday on 16 July 1969&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div><br />The use of resources from the Moon also holds the potential to drum down costs for deeper space exploration. Helium-3, for instance, could a potential way to provide safer nuclear energy in a fusion reactor, since it is not radioactive and would not produce dangerous waste products according to the <a href="https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Preparing_for_the_Future/Space_for_Earth/Energy/Helium-3_mining_on_the_lunar_surface">ESA</a><br /><br />    <div type="image" title="moon flag_edited" msid="77063248" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Apollo 11 Commander Neil Armstrong working at an equipment storage area on the lunar module with US flag planted on the lunar surface&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div><br />While there may be US flags symbolically planted or scattered remnants of Russia’s Luna Landers on the Moon’s surface, no nation claims ownership of the Moon — yet. The international legal status of mining in space continues to remain <a href="https://www.space.com/26644-moon-asteroids-resources-space-law.html">unclear and controversial</a>. <br /><br /><strong>Future missions to the Moon<br /></strong>The Indian Space Research Organisation (<keyword id="6358064" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="isro">ISRO</keyword>) hopes that its Gaganyaan Mission will be successful in launching Indian astronauts into space paving the way for them to one day land on the Moon. <br /><br />    <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="75546034" title="ISRO may quietly gain a cost advantage despite the delay in Gaganyaan and Chandrayaan 3, says an expert" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div><br />The US, the pioneers of exploration on the Moon, also their own mission pegged to launch in 2024. The $30 billion Artemis project is going to be the US’ first step towards building a Lunar Gateway — an outpost or moon base that will orbit the Moon and serve as a landing pad to and from the Moon’s surface — in addition to mining for resources on the surface. <br /><br />According to the US government, Artemis will be the skeleton on which future manned missions — like a mission to Mars — will be built. <br /><br /><strong>SEE ALSO:<br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/as-saturns-iconic-rings-disappear-its-on-the-verge-of-losing-its-largest-moon-as-well-at-a-rate-thats-100-times-faster-than-originally-anticipated/articleshow/76319906.cms">As Saturn's iconic rings disappear, it's on the verge of losing its largest moon as well — at a rate that's 100 times faster than originally anticipated</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/nasa-new-rules-to-protect-mars-and-moon-from-earth-germs/articleshow/76906055.cms">NASA issues new guidelines to protect the Moon and Mars from Earth's germs</a><br /><br /></strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/news/nasa-to-pay-you-rs-26-lakh-for-designing-a-space-toilet-for-moon/articleshow/76657782.cms"><strong>NASA to pay you Rs 26 lakh for designing a space toilet for Moon</strong></a><br /><br />

Moon Day celebrates when man first landed on the Moon and how 51 years later everyone wants a piece of it

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ej3ioOneTy8">20th Century Fox</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div>We dream of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/self-healing-plasma-rockets-2016-7">putting humans on Mars</a>, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/first-private-moon-landing-2016-8">mining the moon</a>, and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-juno-probe-will-crash-into-jupiter-2016-7">looking for life</a> on one of Jupiter's moons. But we forget sometimes that there are whole worlds left to explore here on Earth.</p><p>And we rarely stop to consider the fact that those worlds may well be easier to live in than exotic locales far beyond our own planet.</p><p>Catharine Conley, NASA's planetary protection officer, whose job is to make sure we don't accidentally infect other planets with Earth-germs, has given this question some thought.</p><p>When <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/20-big-questions-about-the-future-of-humanity/">Scientific American asked her</a> if she thinks we'll colonize space, she didn't just say we've already colonized it with robots and may well have done so with bacteria too. She also pointed out that humans looking to become permanent citizens of the moon may not want to hold their breath.</p><p>"But if the idea is to construct a self-sustaining environment where humans can persist indefinitely with only modest help from Earth ... then I'd say this is very far in the future, if it's possible at all," she <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/20-big-questions-about-the-future-of-humanity/">said</a>. She went on to make a thought-provoking comparison: "We haven't bothered to colonize areas underwater on Earth yet. It's far more challenging to colonize a place where there's hardly any atmosphere at all."</p><p>Just as there are a handful of lucky humans who have lived in space, there are a few who have lived underwater. Perhaps the most famous is oceanographer Sylvia Earle, who has spent more than <a href="https://www.ted.com/speakers/sylvia_earle">7,000 hours</a> underwater.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_Navy_110603-N-AD372-308_Students_at_the_Naval_Diving_and_Salvage_Training_Center_play_underwater_football_to_cool_down_after_physical_training.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div>"It was glorious being able to breathe underwater," Earle <a href="https://www.ted.com/speakers/sylvia_earle">said</a> during a public panel earlier this year. Being underwater still requires support, but at least it doesn't take a rocket to get you there. "The blue part of the planet is accessible to pretty much everyone."</p><p>Conley and Earle both highlight the technical difficulties of being born, living, and dying off our planet.</p><p>Earle called Mars "Earth without nature." Conley points out that we'd need to figure out how to build ecosystems from scratch - strong enough ecosystems that they keep going even when something goes wrong.</p><p>But whether or not we <a href="https://aeon.co/conversations/should-we-colonize-the-oceans-before-colonizing-mars">ever colonize either</a> space or the ocean, exploring one will help us explore the other.</p><p>We know Mars used to have an ocean, one large enough to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/mars-ocean-mega-tsunami-surface-2016-5">spawn giant tsunamis</a> we can still see traces of today. And the only permanent underseas lab in the world is used by NASA because they can actually <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/NEEMO/about_neemo.html">test spacewalk techniques</a> in a fairly realistic environment.</p>     <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/maldives-underwater-restaurant-2015-10">What it's like to eat dinner at a restaurant beneath the sea</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="I2a2VneDoVtYtaXedLmnjHDz3QGgZ-Hd" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

You Searched For "earth germs on mars" and got 7 results

NASA issues new guidelines to protect the Moon and Mars from Earth's germs

Prabhjote Gill

WATCH: Supercomputer generates 3D videos that show how Earth may have lost half of its atmosphere to create the Moon

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Comet Neowise will burn bright over India for the next 20 days after two earlier comets fizzled out

Prabhjote Gill

Elon Musk expects to find aliens on Mars and isn't concerned

Rebecca Harrington

A 9-year-old asked NASA for a job defending Earth from aliens - and the space agency personally responded

Dave Mosher

Moon Day celebrates when man first landed on the Moon and how 51 years later everyone wants a piece of it

Prabhjote Gill

Before we colonize space, we may want to colonize our own oceans first

Meghan Bartels

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