‘We’re in a new era’: the 21st-century space race takes off

Nasa, who captured this image of the centre of the Milky Way using the Spitzer space telescope’s infrared cameras, has contracted SpaceX to land astronauts on the moon. Photograph: Nasa/AFP/Getty Images

If the 20th-century space race was about political power, this century’s will be about money. But for those who dream of sending humans back to the moon and possibly Mars, it’s an exciting time to be alive whether it’s presidents or billionaires paying the fare.

Space flight is having a renaissance moment, bringing a fresh energy not seen since the days of the Apollo programme and, for the first time, with private companies rather than governments leading the charge.