We're Really Going Back to the Moon

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I have to admit: For a long time, I didn't really believe it. Sure, NASA announced Artemis, SpaceX built Starship, and timelines kept getting pushed back. But now it's getting real. We're actually going back to the Moon — and this time it's different than before.

With Apollo, the moon landing was a geopolitical race. USA versus Soviet Union. First one there wins. The motivation was 90% politics and 10% science. After we won, we quickly lost interest. The last human on the Moon was in 1972 — that's over 50 years ago.

This time, the starting situation is completely different. It's not just about planting a flag and collecting a few rocks. It's about a permanent presence. A lunar station. Water ice at the poles. A springboard to Mars.

In 1969, it was a duel between two superpowers. In 2026, it's a complex web of government agencies and private companies. NASA, ESA, SpaceX, Blue Origin, China, India — everyone wants to go. And that's a good thing. Competition is good for business, even in space.

What particularly fascinates me: Private companies have completely changed the game. SpaceX lands rocket stages on drone ships — something that sounded like science fiction 15 years ago. Blue Origin and Relativity Space are 3D printing entire rocket parts. And China is building up its own lunar program at a pace that's making everyone else nervous.

Here's where it gets interesting. Technically, we could have gone back to the Moon decades ago. The problem was never the engineering — it was the political will. Spaceflight is expensive, and politicians think in election cycles, not decades.

What's changed: The commercial incentive is there. SpaceX has proven that spaceflight can be profitable. And suddenly, private money is flowing in amounts that were unthinkable before. When billionaires want to race each other to the Moon, the budget somehow finds itself.

My hope is that we don't screw it up this time. That we don't just land, take a few selfies, and then wait another 50 years. The infrastructure needs to stay. A permanent station in lunar orbit — the originally planned Lunar Gateway was discontinued by NASA in March 2026, and no successor is yet defined. Habitats on the surface. Regular flights.

The Moon isn't the goal — it's the first step. And after more than half a century on pause, we're finally taking that step again. This time, hopefully, without stopping.

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