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A realistic and cost-effective path for the United States to advance the exploration and development of the moon, and to keep our nation in the forefront of that enterprise, is to dramatically increase robotic exploration efforts and to focus with urgency on a comprehensive campaign to collect and return geologic samples from a wide range of locations on the moon.
A modest series of new robotic missions to the lunar surface for scientific investigations and technology demonstrations are just beginning with payloads delivered by several private companies through NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. NASA should expand and accelerate the CLPS program to increase the number and cadence of missions and more rapidly progress to more ambitious missions, especially sample return.
Acceptance of risk and resilience are already features of the CLPS program. As part of expanding the program, there should be an even greater emphasis on the incremental approach, beginning with simpler, less demanding missions, so that new companies continue to have an opportunity to test and demonstrate their fundamental capabilities before moving on to more ambitious missions with higher-value payloads. The program should be geared toward enabling the growth of multiple commercial service providers to promote competition and diversity in technical approaches.
The sample return campaign should begin with simple retrievals at easily accessible sites. As confidence is gained, NASA can request bids for progressively more challenging missions such as those to more difficult landing sites, or those that require drilling, roving to less accessible locations, performing in situ analysis and sample sorting or returning samples maintained in cryogenic conditions.
Meanwhile, back on Earth, these missions would gradually create a pipeline of samples coming from all regions of the moon, including bulk regolith for engineering studies and carefully selected samples for scientific research. Over time, lunar geologists and engineers could request increasingly specific samples as new knowledge is gained.
If the goal is to bring the moon into the sphere of human economic activities and to begin operating in that hazardous environment with confidence and dexterity, we need to learn as much as possible about the moon, as quickly as possible. We should also recognize that most long-term operations on the moon, especially activities like construction and mining, are going to be performed by automated or tele-operated machines, not people in spacesuits. Now is the time to develop those machines and gain experience in their operation.
A primary objective of the sample return campaign would be to confirm and refine knowledge about the moon’s resources: to determine the distribution, concentration and characteristics of useful materials and to test the methods for extraction, purification and processing of those resources. We should also be open to the potential discovery of unexpected resources. There is still a lot to learn about the moon, and we should not expect that prospecting for resources and developing new industries will be any easier there than it is on Earth.
The knowledge gained through extensive robotic surface investigations and analysis of samples from multiple parts of the moon will tell us where we can find the best combination of accessibility, operational environment, and useful resources. We might also learn if the best strategy is a single base or if a more dispersed or mobile approach is better.
A second objective of the sample return campaign would be to expand scientific knowledge about the structure and composition of the moon, its geologic and impact history, the volatile materials present, the exosphere, the origin and the evolution of the Earth/moon system and of the solar system. Gathering pristine samples and taking measurements now, before more extensive lunar operations begin, makes the robotic exploration and sample return effort a near-term priority. As we learn more, the moon will undoubtedly surprise us, in good and bad ways.
A third objective of the sample return campaign would be to drive the advancement of technologies and operational capabilities for complex operations in the extreme environment of the moon. These technologies will be essential in the further exploration of the solar system and will be needed if there is ever to be industrial-level activity on the moon. Progress in these technical fields will not only build up our spacefaring capacity but also benefit many aspects of life on Earth.
It is no easy task to send a spacecraft to the lunar surface, land precisely, collect samples and load them into a returning spacecraft, launch from the moon and then transit back to land safely on Earth. As the missions become more demanding, with more complex surface activities, in more extreme conditions, companies will be challenged to develop and demonstrate new techniques. Unlike missions to deliver instruments and rovers, sample return missions require round-trip transportation and offer a stronger rationale for developing more efficient and reusable transportation elements. A sustained, well-funded CLPS program, with a rapid cadence of missions, could provide the incentive needed for private investment in creating affordable infrastructure for this new frontier.
This is not a new idea, even for me. As a high school student and space enthusiast in the early 1970’s, I prepared and mailed a suggestion to NASA about robotic exploration of the moon. I thought that there was a relatively low-cost way to maintain the momentum of the recently ended Apollo program by reusing some of the hardware designs for robotic exploration. I proposed that NASA should undertake a series of missions, using the Saturn I launch vehicle, with an S-IVB stage and an Apollo lunar descent module to deliver a tele-operated version of the Lunar Roving Vehicle. NASA replied to me with a nice thank you letter, and they enclosed a poster about the Space Shuttle, a new program just getting started. I genuinely appreciated their reply, and I understood that a continuation of lunar exploration at that time was not very likely.
It is unfortunate that the Apollo momentum was not maintained in the intervening five decades. However, some factors have changed since the 1970’s to make robotic exploration and sample return missions even more practical. Due to the revolutionary advancement of technology, robots are no longer just a temporary and less-capable alternative to human explorers but viable surrogates in many cases, especially in the most extreme and hazardous environments. Also, the readiness of private industry to participate and the existing CLPS contract mechanism make implementation of my suggestion relatively straightforward.
I have no doubt that Americans will once again walk on the moon. I spent a major portion of my own career in human spaceflight efforts. I believe that direct human presence has unique benefits and should continue to be a part of NASA’s plans for near-Earth and lunar exploration. However, in comparison to the many billions of dollars being invested in the Artemis effort, a more modest investment in the robotic exploration and comprehensive sample return campaign that I outlined here is more urgent and will ultimately provide greater benefits for our nation and the world.
I understand that the current focus of those managing our space program is to find a way to land the 13th and 14th U.S. astronauts on the moon before China lands its first. However, a sample return campaign can begin with capabilities that are well within our grasp today and it should not be postponed. If we are serious about exploring and utilizing the moon’s resources, the American people and Congress should re-evaluate our priorities and our path to the moon. A great future awaits us on the moon if we choose a realistic, affordable and sustainable path.
Andrew Petro retired after 45 years as an aerospace engineer and program manager at the NASA Johnson Space Center and NASA Headquarters. His work included Space Shuttle flight operations, engineering for human spacecraft, design of lunar and Mars vehicles and mission architectures, integration of Russian vehicles for the International Space Station, advanced space propulsion research, public-private partnerships, space technology program management and acquisition of lunar communications and navigation infrastructure.
SpaceNews is committed to publishing our community’s diverse perspectives. Whether you’re an academic, executive, engineer or even just a concerned citizen of the cosmos, send your arguments and viewpoints to opinion@spacenews.com to be considered for publication online or in our next magazine. The perspectives shared in these opinion articles are solely those of the authors.
This article first appeared in the November 2025 issue of SpaceNews Magazine.
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