NASA's New Horizons spacecraft was launched into space in 2006 and is currently traveling in space for research. (Source: NASA)

Among the human devices serving the purpose of orbital space research, we must mention the "huge" number of satellites.

According to astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell, of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (USA), there are currently more than 5,000 active satellites in orbit, five times more than 10 years ago.

Elon Musk's SpaceX alone has launched about 2,000 Starlink satellites in recent years. If companies like Amazon and Boeing join in conquering space, scientists predict that Earth will have about 30,000 more satellites in the next 10 years.

“It would be like an interstate highway at rush hour in a snowstorm and everyone driving too fast,” researcher Jonathan McDowell said in response to Space.com’s question about what the situation would be like in orbit if current plans for SpaceX Starlink, OneWeb, and Amazon Kuiper satellites came to fruition.

Private space companies are booming.

In the United States, space exploration was once a government-sponsored program for national security purposes. However, after two fatal shuttle explosions (Challenger in 1986 and Columbia in 2003), the U.S. government began to phase out state-sponsored programs.

Although public-private satellite programs have been around since the 1960s, it wasn't until the space shuttle program ended and was officially canceled in 2011 that a slew of private commercial space companies began to "blossom."

The US Congress has proposed a new policy, called the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services Program, to encourage the privatization of space exploration.

Since then, NASA and other US government agencies have become customers of private companies in the space sector. Famous companies that have affirmed their role in this field are SpaceX, Blue Origin, OneWeb, Orbital ATK, ViaSat, SES…

According to the Financial Times, there are now more than 10,000 commercial space companies in the world that have developed over the past 20 years. Of these, SpaceX is the most “famous” company, having launched thousands of satellites for both public and private purposes. Billionaire Musk’s Starlink service has helped Ukraine maintain its Internet connection, even when other telecommunications services were shut down due to conflict.

Bank of America predicts the space industry will be worth more than $1.4 trillion by 2030.

According to NASA’s 2022 report, governments across advanced nations have increased their investment in both civil and military space industries. India’s spending increased by 36%, China’s by 23%, and the US’s by 18%.

Conquering "Chang'e"

In man's efforts to conquer space, the Moon has always been considered the top target.

The failure of Russia's Luna-25 lander on August 20 ended Russia's first mission in nearly 50 years. However, the head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov, said that Russia planned to conduct at least three more lunar missions in the next seven years. After that, Russia and China could cooperate on a manned lunar mission.

According to the South China Morning Post, China is researching and developing spacecraft and equipment to serve the goal of sending astronauts to the Moon by 2030.

The United States and China are also conducting exploration programs to the Moon’s South Pole, in search of large enough water ice that could be used to extract fuel, oxygen, and drinking water. Finding water is crucial to the process of human conquest and permanent settlement on the Moon.

Both countries have plans to establish a permanent human presence on the South Pole and a permanent base on the Moon. NASA recently announced that its Artemis II mission, which will send four astronauts to orbit the Moon, will launch in November 2024.

Less than a week after Russia’s Luna-25 mission failed, India’s Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft successfully landed on the south pole of the Moon on August 23. Thus, the country of the Ganges River became the fourth country in the world to successfully land a spacecraft on the surface of the Moon, joining the US, China and the former Soviet Union.

Speaking immediately after this historic moment, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi affirmed: "This is a resounding victory for a new India" and this success is not only for India but for all humanity.

The successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon was India’s first major mission after the Modi government announced policies to boost investment in the space race. Since 2020, India has opened up to the private sector, leading to a doubling of space startups.

It is impossible not to mention the International Space Station (ISS) of a group of countries led by the US, serving satellite operations, defense technology, data analysis and even space tourism. The ISS was built in 1998, welcoming the first crew to the station in 2000. Since then, the ISS has been a "common home" for space researchers from countries around the world, such as the US, Russia, Japan, Canada, etc.

Space exploration, including joint missions to the ISS, is the only area where Russia and the US are cooperating effectively despite diplomatic tensions between the two countries.