Why everyone is going back to the Moon: myths and facts

Just what the heck is going on?

The lay press, which has only a superficial understanding of space issues, has taken notice of all this space activity and struggled to understand it. They have reached for explanations, and in the process produced several erroneous theories based upon poor understanding both of what is currently happening, and what has happened in the past regarding exploration of the Moon. These Moon Myths include:

These countries are involved in a “space race” to the Moon.

China, Japan, and India are engaged in an “Asian space race.”

The scientific community is newly interested in the Moon and driving these efforts.

There must be something on the Moon that all these countries want—helium-3, other resources, or extraterrestrials.

These robotic missions are precursors to something bigger, such as human missions.

There is practically no truth to any of these myths, but they have appeared in numerous articles and, more often, in television news segments. They are worth exploring, if only to shed a little more light on what is currently going on.