A review of humanity's planned expansion between the Earth and the moon

Cislunar space is a region of space measuring 384,400 km ( 238,855 mi ) wide between low Earth orbit and the moon.

In the coming decades , multiple space agencies will send missions to this region to support the development of infrastructure that will lead to a permanent human presence on the moon . This includes orbital and surface habitats, landing pads, surface vehicles, technologies for in-situ resource utilization, and other elements that will enable the long-term exploration and development of the lunar surface.

The Lunar South Pole is a key piece of Cislunar space as it is an efficient geographic location for sustainable operations.

In the coming decades , this region is expected to become rather crowded with satellites, spacecraft, the Lunar Gateway , and other orbital facilities.

The Three-Body Problem is challenging due to the introduction of the third body in the orbital mechanics problem.

Other challenges include the challenges of sending spacecraft from Earth to the moon.

More information: Brian Baker-McEvilly et al, A comprehensive review on Cislunar expansion and space domain awareness, Progress in Aerospace Sciences ( 2024 ). DOI: 10.1016 /j.paerosci.2024.101019. On arXiv: DOI: 10.48550 /arxiv.2408.03261 Provided by Universe TodayThis story was originally published on Phys.org . Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest sci-tech news updates..