A historic achievement: Thursday, for the first time since 1972, a lunar lander touched down on the moon. The 14 foot tall unmanned private-firm built lander, launched by a SpaceX rocket, became the first lander since Apollo 17 to land on the selenian orb. From a New York Post article on the historic achievement:
The six-footed carbon fiber and titanium lander — towering 14 feet — carried six experiments for NASA and other cargo. The space agency paid $118 million to the tech firm to build and fly the lander as part of its effort to commercialize lunar deliveries ahead of plans to put humans back on the moon within several years.
Returning to the moon, despite being a phenomenal accomplishment in and of itself, is but the first step in landing men on the moon, and eventually building a lunar base. And even a lunar base is seen as a first step towards future missions to Mars and a possible colony there.
It’s exciting to see so many factors, long in development, finally culminating in such an accomplishment. Makes me excited for the future.
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