00:00August 23, 2023, a memorable date, marked by the historic landing of the Indian spacecraft
00:08Chandrayaan-3 on the south pole of the moon, a region that is invisible to us from Earth.
00:15Why does this lunar zone intrigue so many scientists?
00:19The answer lies in its hidden treasure, lunar ice.
00:24This sector is supposed to contain more than the North Pole.
00:28The enthusiasm of scientists is therefore understandable.
00:32This ice is a precious source of frozen water, essential to establish a permanent lunar base,
00:38or even to power missions to Mars.
00:42Scientists have known about the existence of this ice for more than two decades,
00:47since a NASA space probe accidentally fell on it during a mission.
00:52Then, in 2018, the Space Agency shared its conclusions,
00:56and confirmed with certainty the abundance of water in the lunar south pole.
01:02Imagine the future lunar settlers using this resource to support life in this arid space desert.
01:11In addition, by decomposing water into oxygen and hydrogen,
01:15we could obtain air and fuel for rockets.
01:19This would make lunar missions more feasible and autonomous.
01:23In addition, this ancestral ice, perhaps as old as the moon itself,
01:27offers a fascinating window into the past,
01:30likely to reveal the deep mysteries of the moon and the Earth.
01:35But it turns out that water is not at all rare in space.
01:38Many planets could potentially shelter life.
01:42We know this thanks to the detection of water vapor around stars,
01:45whose composition is remarkably similar to that of water in our own solar system.
01:52This discovery suggests that water on Earth initially comes from space.
01:57It forms around stars in an extremely hot vapor cloud,
02:01then turns into ice, which attaches to tiny dust particles.
02:05These particles agglomerate over time to become larger objects,
02:09like comets and planets.
02:11Some of these formations, in fact, become the celestial bodies of our own solar system.
02:17This is how water spreads throughout the universe.
02:20And this is probably how it arrived on our planet, and on the moon.
02:24Scientists think that lunar ice could have traveled this far a long time ago,
02:29perhaps transported by asteroids rich in water that hit the lunar surface.
02:34All this has great implications for us.
02:37The south pole of the moon represents an ideal site where to establish a sustainable lunar base.
02:43Imagine domes made of bricks, connected by underground tunnels,
02:47and populated by people playing the piano on computers.
02:52Others would travel the lunar landscape in their jeeps,
02:55on their way to extract precious resources.
02:59We have some really interesting ideas about how to build this.
03:03Instead of transporting heavy and costly shelters from Earth,
03:07why not adopt a more efficient approach?
03:10Throughout our long history,
03:13in every exploration of new territories,
03:16we have always been able to exploit local resources in order to survive and prosper.
03:21This is how we have spread throughout our own planet.
03:25Why not apply the same strategy to the moon?
03:28You may be wondering what resources the moon could offer.
03:31We know that there is ice there, which can be transformed into water.
03:34But the moon cruelly lacks a luxurious vegetation and edible food.
03:41This may not seem obvious, but the moon does have something to offer.
03:46Mineral resources and an abundance of sunlight.
03:49Unlike the Earth, where the sun rises and sets daily,
03:53the lunar poles offer a unique spectacle.
03:56The sun passes gracefully along the horizon all day,
04:00generating an almost uninterrupted source of energy.
04:04Imagine living in a world bathed in perpetual sunlight.
04:08The solar panels will love it.
04:10And I, maybe not so much.
04:12In addition, we can use not only the sunlight, but also its heat.
04:16In fact, we should really exploit everything.
04:19If we have an excess of metal during the production of oxygen,
04:22we also find a use for this metal.
04:25We must treat the environment responsibly,
04:28not only on Earth, but also on the moon.
04:30This is why scientists are learning to transform the most abundant lunar resource,
04:34regolith, into solid bricks.
04:37They have proven to be very inventive in discovering how to shape lunar bricks.
04:41Researchers are considering using the sun's heat to melt lunar dust,
04:45layer after layer,
04:47by essentially creating a 3D printer for lunar dust.
04:50Engineers have also designed bricks using solar ovens
04:54and by bombarding the lunar ground with microwaves.
04:57They have become very skilled at this.
05:00Maybe one day we will establish a small brick factory on the moon
05:03and build regolith houses.
05:07It would be like Minecraft in real life.
05:10As soon as you find a new interesting material,
05:12you build a small house with it.
05:15If this succeeds, these bricks could be used to build entire buildings,
05:19by potentially covering inflatable modules
05:22or by giving a second life to abandoned landers.
05:26So, should astronauts become qualified masons?
05:29Not necessarily.
05:31We will have to create an automated system of robots working in collaboration.
05:35Humans will of course supervise the construction site.
05:38Despite all this automation,
05:41scientists estimate that living on the moon will be,
05:44well, let's say, comfortable.
05:47The plans could include superimposed residential areas
05:51or polyvalent areas.
05:54However, there will also be some challenges.
05:57On the moon, the conditions are extremely rigorous.
06:01Imagine burning temperatures
06:03reaching up to 100°C during the day
06:06and falling to a glacial temperature of minus 280°C at night.
06:10The climate is not the only problem.
06:13The moon is constantly exposed to solar radiation,
06:16cosmic rays and micrometeorites.
06:19All these factors progressively wear out everything on its surface.
06:23Another big challenge is lunar dust.
06:26On the moon, there is no air to breathe,
06:29and this dust can cause serious problems.
06:32It is not an ordinary dust.
06:34It is extremely sticky
06:36and can even cause tingling and tingling in astronauts,
06:39like a kind of lunar haystack.
06:42In addition, it can damage equipment and space suits.
06:45It is not something to take lightly.
06:48Scientists have discovered that this dust was produced
06:51when meteors hit the moon,
06:54thus creating tiny particles and sharp green splashes.
06:57It is toxic,
06:59and these small particles can float in low lunar gravity,
07:02making breathing difficult.
07:05Unlike the Earth, the moon has no wind or rain to clean this dust.
07:08Researchers are therefore working on this problem
07:11to discover how to prevent this nuisance from compromising their mission.
07:16There is more to this lunar haystack than it seems.
07:19Scientists also want to explore the mysteries
07:22of the low-frequency electromagnetic waves present there.
07:25These waves are murmurs coming from the edges of the universe.
07:29Unpredictable signals that have remained hidden from us since the dawn of time.
07:33So far, we have only captured a cacophony of radio background noise.
07:38But on the hidden side of the moon,
07:41we will finally be able to record and study them.
07:44Studying these waves will help researchers
07:47discover the secrets of the origins of the universe.
07:50It is not just about the Earth or the moon,
07:53but to go back to the very first beginning of our world.
07:57Our new lunar laboratory could help us
08:00to permanently redefine our understanding of the cosmos.
08:05NASA has big projects for the moon.
08:08The Artemis mission made a successful return to Earth in December 2022,
08:11after nearly a month in space.
08:15Travelling far beyond the moon.
08:18This mission has tested the capabilities of the latest technical advances
08:21that will help us explore the planet Mars.
08:26The goal of Artemis is to establish a sustainable presence on the moon.
08:29NASA aims to create a gateway,
08:32like a space station in orbit around the satellite,
08:35to facilitate landing.
08:38It is planned that Artemis 2 will transport astronauts
08:41to the lunar base in 2024.
08:44And during Artemis 3, which should take place in the middle of the decade,
08:47two astronauts will land near the south pole of the moon.
08:51It is quite possible that a lunar base will be built
08:54over the years to come.
08:57So stay tuned.
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