Touching down on a new planet can be unsettling, but Masten Space Systems aims to put things on a firmer footing

At the start of Apollo there was huge concern and uncertainty about what kind of surface awaited. While some expected barren rock, others suggested a lunar lander might sink deeply into Moon dust. NASA sent the Surveyor probes ahead in the 1960s to characterise the surface, determining, as seen in the famous lunar landing footage, that it was somewhere between the two.

Moon dust was found to be a problem: it is fine and abrasive, a harsh glass mix that brought a burnt smell with it back into the Lunar Module. Now NASA is actively working on Project Artemis, and is closer to returning to the Moon than at any time since the end of Apollo. Along with SpaceX and Blue Origin’s commercial ventures and China’s plans for future lunar landings, we are at last likely to see the start of a moonbase in the next decade.