Fly me to the Moon

Synopsis: The last year has witnessed significant lunar mission activity including the first commercial lunar landing, and the first mission to conduct sample-return from the lunar far-side. Further missions are planned in the year and a crewed mission is scheduled to finally return to the moon in 2025. It feels like a new space race is under way. But why should we go back? What questions still need to be answered? Is a long-term human presence on the Moon viable, or sensible? And what risks might there be in this new era of activity on the lunar surface?

Bio: Megan is a professional astrophysicist and science communicator, currently a Senior Lecturer in Astrophysics at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston. As well as teaching undergraduate courses, Megan studies galaxies, black holes, and supernovae in the nearby universe with continent-sized radio telescope networks.  She has more than 20 years of public engagement experience, regularly appearing in the media to talk about astronomy and space news stories, gives public lectures and schools workshops all over the country, takes rockets to music festivals, and delivers STEM-focussed teacher training.  During the pandemic she delivered online planetarium shows to more than 1400 Brownies and Guides, for which she was awarded the British Empire Medal in the 2022 Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to Girlguiding.  She is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and President of Shropshire Astronomical Society.