Lunar exploration through Nasa’s international Artemis programme can unlock the secrets of deep space exploration and signal a new era of human habitation on the Moon and Mars, a major conference has heard.
Speaking at the 74th International Astronautical Congress in Baku, global experts said the programme, which will see humans step foot on the Moon for the first time in 50 years, is critical to the long-term plan of colonising outer worlds.
The Artemis project got under way on November 16, 2022 when Nasa’s unmanned Orion spacecraft orbited the Moon to usher in a new era of space exploration.
Our resources on Earth will eventually end for the population so we need to colonise other environments, the sooner the better
Miguel Bello Mora,
Spanish Space Agency Director General
International space experts told the annual space conference in Azerbaijan that a manned operation to the lunar surface was critical to understanding the long-term physical impact of deep space exploration.
“The good news is we know we've already been to the moon and back,” said Sharmila Bhattacharya, a scientist for Space Biology in Nasa’s Biological and Physical Science division.
“We also know from all the work, all the studies that have been done on the International Space Station that there are effects at neurological and physiological levels.
“As a long-duration analogue for future lunar and Mars missions, the ISS has been an important way in which we're beginning to get a sense of what effects long-duration exposure to space flight in reduced gravity or microgravity have, as well as elevated radiation.”
While the first mission contained only a ‘moonakin’ on board, Artemis 2 – penned in for November 2024 – will have four crew aboard to complete a similar orbital mission, before a complete landing on the Moon’s surface in December 2025 in the Artemis 3 mission.
As part of the Artemis programme, Nasa aims to create an outpost orbiting the Moon to provide vital support for repeat visits to the lunar surface, and further into space.
Tests and research
The gateway station will serve as a staging point for deep space exploration, and will follow the Artemis 3 mission with a human surface landing.
Operational tests and research on Earth are already preparing astronauts for Moon landings.
They include landing vehicles tested in mountainous, barren landscapes to replicate the lunar surface, isolation pods to assess the physical and psychological impact of a long-term space mission, and also special vests to block out space radiation.
“We’ve added a lot of hardware for the crew on the Artemis 2 mission,” Jim Free, Nasa’s associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate (ESDMD), told the conference in Baku.
“There are lot of life support systems and new hand controllers so the vehicle can be controlled.
“We will learn on every mission we do and test during a 24-hour Earth orbit, before we commit to going to the Moon.
“And then for future missions, we'll start to add hardware for Artemis 3, we'll have our lunar lander, we'll have space suits. Those are in development today.”
The primary goals for Artemis 1 were to demonstrate Orion’s systems in a space flight environment and ensure a safe re-entry, descent, splashdown, and recovery before the first flight with crew on Artemis 2.
Artemis 2 will include a woman and three men – Nasa astronauts Christina Hammock Koch, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
At the IAC event in Baku, Miguel Bello Mora, director general of the Spanish Space Agency, said the mixed crew will inspire more women to want to go into space.
“We need a vocation for space and astronauts are a pubic relation to promote these vocations, especially among women,” he said.
“In Spain, we have only 20 per cent of women talent in the space industry, so we need to foster that.
“There needs to be a reference for young girls to increase those numbers.
“Our resources on Earth will eventually end for the population, so we need to colonise other environments, the sooner the better.”
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
