The last lunar project in 1972 was not only the last manned moon land but also the last trip out of earth’s low orbit. Nevertheless, SpaceX has recently revealed that they would be sending two people on to the moon in 2018. For the past 45 years, NASA has not sent people to the moon. This is most prominently due to increased expectations in science. New technologies and longer stays in space are a result of this progression which also ultimately calls for issues in financing the missions. Therefore, SpaceX’s announcement comes as a surprise to many. The private aerospace manufacturing company plans to use their Dragon Version 2 Spacecraft to approach the moon’s surface and orbit back to the earth. This spacecraft contains an Environmental Control and Life Support System with comfort for the 7 crewmembers that will be traveling. The new model provides a solution to current fiscal issues in being the first vehicle to be completely reused 10 times. Furthermore, the Dragon v2 has removed a complete stage separation from its previous model the Dragon 1, increasing the overall stability of the space engine. Lastly, the spacecraft is controlled and maneuvered through a command center on Earth, allowing for non-pilot passengers. This last feature’s impact can be seen when two citizens without previous space travel experience sent a large monetary deposit to SpaceX for a lunar trip by 2018. As stated by National Geographic, “the fee is about the equivalent of a journey to the International Space Station”. This price equates to about 20 to 40 million dollars.

With the success of this mission, it will be the first trip for SpaceX to send people into space, and “it’ll officially put it in the space tourism business” as presented in a video by The Verge. This mission also overlaps with NASA’s project to send people to the moon by 2020. The private company has in a way created a “space race” for returning people to the moon. However, the success of SpaceX’s lunar project is still questionable. Safety is a major element to every space mission. Nevertheless, with recent reports from the Government Accountability Office, Bloomberg states that “SpaceX and competitor Boeing Co. may not be approved to transport astronauts until 2019 because of potential safety hazards”. Furthermore, there have been many instances in which SpaceX pushes back their deadline goals. This can be seen through the Falcon Heavy which had an original launch date in 2015 that was moved until 2017. Although many questions may rise about this newly announced moon mission, the project certainly shows the great scientific advances and the never ending capacity of exploring the cosmos.


<Stephanie Nam Los Alamitos High School 10th Grade>