Government space agencies from all over the world are pushing to rejuvenate Moon exploration missions after the success of the European Space Agency in landing a probe on the surface of a distant comet.

During the Cold War era, the U.S. and the Soviet Union proved that Moon exploration is possible, and other countries today are also committing themselves to lunar missions of their own.

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Countries with underdeveloped space programs plan to improve their technical knowledge and engineering skills to build spacecraft that will get them to the Moon.

They've been working to enhance their spacecraft technology to land unmanned rovers on the Moon with manned landings to folllow.

The latest attempt to return to the Moon comes from the state-run space agency of China. On November 1, a Chinese lunar satellite completed a trip to the Moon and back. This made China one of only three countries that have ever managed a return mission to the Moon.

Aside from China, Japan managed to send an unmanned probe to the Moon.

The two countries are currently in a space race to build unmanned bases on the Moon ahead of manned missions.

Meanwhile, NASA is now focusing on developing its deep-space capabilities for a possible manned mission to Mars by 2035.

Commercial ventures in the United States are showing their interest in returning to the Moon but to earn money, however. The plan is to establish lunar commerce in the form of ferrying paying customers or cargo to and from the Moon. This new business model could become a reality as early as 2015.

This plan to resurrect Moon exploration is being driven by Google's Lunar X Prize. The competition will grant US$20 million in funds to any commercial company that can send a working rover to the Moon and provide video evidence of its landing as proof.

TagsLunar Exploration, Moon exploration, NASA, space agencies, solar system, moon, Moon landing, lunar mission, ESA, Mars