Published: July 19, 2019 By

Apollo Lunar ModuleFrom CBC Radio: When humans return to the moon as soon as 2024, their missions will be vastly different from those of the Apollo pioneers.

The Apollo program changed the world without significantly changing the surface of the moon, but the next phase of lunar development will be multinational, long-term and commercially driven.

According to Jack Burns, director of the NASA-funded Network for Exploration and Space Science, the countries and companies going will develop unexplored lunar territory, mine resources and make the moon a base for future space exploration. 

"I think it certainly was exciting in 1969," said Burns on Day 6. "It will be exciting again when we return." Listen now...