Lunar Explorers Society
The Lunar Explorers Society is an organisation dedicated to achieving permanent presence of humanity on the Moon. The Society is open to all people in the world with an interested in Lunar exploration. It hopes to bring the best of humanity to the Moon, and to bring the benefits of the Moon to all people on Earth.
The Moon has not been visited by man since 1973, and though the first manned exploration efforts provided a huge scientific return, no further human Exploration of the Moon has been done. However, several robotic Lunar exploration missions have been conducted since the beginning of the 1990's. These missions fuelled the desire to return to the Moon among many Lunar enthusiast, and this was the background for the establishment of the Lunar Explorers Society in 2000. The founding members saw the need for an organisation where the members could share knowledge, join forces and pursue their ultimate goal: To establish a permanent human presence on the Moon to the benefit of all people on Earth.
Objectives
- To support the establishment of a permanent human presence on the Moon
- To promote international cooperation between scientists working with Lunar exploration by providing a neutral platform for their discussions
- To raise awareness of what could be achieved by returning to the Moon through educational and outreach activities
- To promote the peaceful and fair use of the resources available on the Moon, to the benefit of mankind
The Young Lunar Explorers Award
The Young Lunar Explorers Award is presented to a worthy candidate once every year, at the anual International Conference on the Exploration and Utilisation of the Moon. The awards have been given to the following winners:
- 2005: The SSETI Express team
- 2004: International Space University (ISU)
History
The Lunar Explorers Society was founded 14th July 2000, during the 4th International Conference on the Exploration and Utilisation of the Moon (ICEUM4). There, the 156 ICEUM4 participants signed the founding declaration of the Lunar Explorers Society. The International Lunar Exploration Working Group (ILEWG) has supported the Lunar Explorers Society since the beginning
