Lunar Year *2018*: Which missions are planned?

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Lunar Year  *2018*:  Which missions are planned?

The lunar year  *2018*:  What happens this year on the moon?
 Updated on January 29, 2018, 15:39pm

The moon is not only responsible for the ebb and flow, but has always been a magnet for us humans. The first moon landing in 1969 was for a long time a synonym for modern technology, but after 1972, no one set foot on the earth satellite. This could change in the foreseeable future: In 2018, the moon will once again become a popular destination.

It is not only trained physicists or astronauts who accept the dangerous trip into the dark spaces - even tourists should explore space this year.

Made possible by the Tesla founder Elon Musk, who offers with his company SpaceX missions in a Dragon capsule for private individuals. According to Musk, two passengers have already made a down payment for the flight. Experts believe that the trip per capita costs  80 to 100 million dollars.
The new rocket type Falcon Heavy should shoot the two heavy-duty space travelers towards the moon at the end of the year. The capsule will then - similar to ultimately the Apollo 13 - lie down a so-called swingby maneuver and therefore not enter the lunar orbit.

The trip should last about a week and last until the end of the year.

The mission is no easy task, as the Falcon Heavy is new and will be directed by professional astronauts for the first time in the middle of the year. Nevertheless, Elon Musk's Dragon Capsule does not require certification for manned launches, as the tourists fly at their own risk.

Even Donald Trump reaches for the stars....

Of course, a certain amount of risk-taking is part of the journey into space, yet another moon mission planned for 2018 has been postponed. Donald Trump had set his sights on his astronauts leaving footprints on the moon as soon as possible - but he had to take a setback.

The head of state was serious. In early 2017, Trump asked NASA for a feasibility study to see if the mission to the Moon originally scheduled for 2021 could start in 2018.

But the Space Agency denied the President of the United States: The flight to the moon is too expensive and too risky, and so the originally scheduled date of the first manned excursion remains.
Moon mission of the People's Republic of China

But not only the US is trying to conquer the universe. The Chinese, too, have been exploring for some time and will send an unmanned spacecraft to the Moon with the so-called Chang'e 4 mission as part of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program (CLEP).

Their goal is to find out how gravitation affects plants and insects that are actually at home on Earth. The attraction is only one-sixteenth of that which reigns on our blue planet.
In addition, the Chinese shoot an aluminum box on the moon, in which are seeds of potatoes and Gänserauke as well as silkworms - all in all, an autonomous ecosystem and a test, whether in the future under certain circumstances food can grow on the moon.

In 15 years, the Chinese researchers plan a manned space mission, which takes the results under the microscope. And who knows: Maybe in the foreseeable future we will eat real moon cake with grain from the earth satellite.
Europe and Japan conquer Mercury....

But not only the moon is the object of desire. Mercury is also the focus of the researchers. In October, the mission BepiColombo starts to explore the smallest planet of the solar system and provide evidence of its formation.

In addition, the scientists want to find out if the core of Mercury is liquid or solid and if the planet is tectonically active. It will take some time until we see the first results, because the probe is on the way for a total of seven years and will not land on Mercury until 2025.

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