Stations for long-term missions are to be built on the lunar surface. Although a trip to the moon takes just under four days, at a distance of around 384,400 kilometers the lunar sand can quickly fall on your head.
When the German ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer was still on the International Space Station, we have asked him several questions. We have saved an answer for the start of the Artemis I moon mission, which MDR WISSEN will broadcast live on August 29th (if Nasa’s current schedules remain). We asked Maurer if he would take part in a moon mission – even if he had to stay there for a year.
Some people would never want to go to the moon even if they had the opportunity. Others would be happy about a short stay. A whole year can make you dizzy – Matthias Maurer doesn’t. He would agree immediately.
Matthias Maurer and the moon: “I’m in!”
At the idea of living on the moon for a while, Maurer gets enthusiastic: “Everyone dreams of enjoying the experience of maybe walking on the moon – asking themselves: What would it be like to walk on the moon and to be able to explore it.”
Only twelve Americans have received this honor so far. But unlike the Apollo missions the Artemis missions are intended to prepare humanity for a permanent presence in space. “We now know that there is much more to be mined and retrieved on the moon than was known at the time. There are significant resources on the moon,” says Maurer.