NASA's Artemis II moon rocket lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. on April 1.Chris O'Meara/The Associated Press
Gus Carlson is a U.S.-based columnist for The Globe and Mail.
They say there’s more technology in a lowly microwave oven, a common smartphone and even a basic USB charger than in the Apollo computers that landed astronauts on the moon in 1969.
And if you’ve seen the Apollo spacecraft on display at the U.S. National Air and Space Museum, you believe the comparison. They’re so primitive it’s hard to believe they carried humans to the moon – and got them back.
The recent voyage of Artemis II is a reminder that we’ve come a long way since we last went to the moon more than 50 years ago. And it’s not just the technology that has changed: The mission and motivation have, too.
Back then, the space race was all about bragging rights for the world’s superpowers. It was politics powered by showcasing innovation – but mostly it was politics. Whoever made it to the moon first would win.
Carney speaks with astronaut Jeremy Hansen after Artemis II’s historic moon mission
Today it’s about creating the global space economy. Artemis II represents a giant leap toward the commercialization – and eventually, the colonization – of the moon and deep space.
The numbers behind this emerging economy confirm that the voyage of Artemis II was far more than a feel-good sightseeing tour for its four astronauts, though the photo album they sent back to Earth was breathtaking.
According to the Brookings Institute, the global space economy reached more than US$600-billion last year – 78 per cent of which was based in the commercial sector – and employed nearly 400,000 people. More than 1,800 companies around the world are working on various aspects of space, including tourism, mining, communications, exploration and defence.
“NASA’s successful Artemis II mission highlights a turning point where once implausible scenarios, such as permanent lunar settlements and orbital data centres, will likely materialize,” Brookings said.
The advent of reusable rockets made by SpaceX and others has reduced launch costs by almost 60 per cent and enabled their frequency to increase – a key element in creating a business model that has legs.
What we learned from the Artemis II mission and what comes next
The prospect of deep space data centres is particularly important. The rapid growth of artificial intelligence and its ravenous appetite for power have caused serious issues for power grids here on Earth. Some U.S. communities, including several in Ohio, have pushed back against plans for huge AI data centres that will drain stressed infrastructure and drive up utility rates for residents.
If the idea of corporate facilities and housing on the moon or Mars (or beyond) still sounds like science fiction, consider how much technology in outer space has already changed the way we live on Earth. Think of the global positioning system you use in your car and when calling ride-share services. Or advanced weather forecasting and, of course, mobile communications. Myriad applications exist in defence and warfare.
Now think further ahead. Some of the world’s leading companies are aggressively developing self-driving vehicles controlled by on-board sensors linked to orbiting brains and transmitters. Expand that universe to include autonomous trains, ships and even aircraft.
None of that will happen without continued advances in space-related technology.
NASA is already working on plans for permanent settlements on the moon and regular flights to Mars. Among the business prospects: technology, power, tourism and the mining of rare minerals.
But there’s an even more telling indicator that science fiction is closer to becoming science reality. SpaceX, the 800-pound gorilla in the space economy, has filed for an initial public offering to raise US$75-billion, a transaction that could value the company at more than US$2-trillion. Eager investors are already lining up for the company’s road show, which could launch as early as June.
This excitement is probably the surest sign that the space economy is the next big thing. Because money, especially big money, doesn’t follow fiction or fantasy.