The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has announced a plan to put the first woman on the moon in 2024.
The goal of the $28 billion program is to return humans to the lunar surface after 1972, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said.
In a statement Monday (Sept. 21), Bridenstine said, “We are returning to the Moon for the sake of scientific exploration, economic benefit, and to inspire a new generation of explorers. As we build a sustainable presence, we are also gaining experience for the first human landing on the Red Planet (Mars).”
NASA’s return to the Moon is part of the Artemis program. The astronauts will fly to the Moon aboard NASA’s new Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft.
In Greek mythology, Artemis is the moon goddess and twin sister of Apollo, the sun god.
Bridenstine told reporters that “political risk” often threatens NASA’s work, especially in the run-up to such a critical election. If Congress approves an initial budget of $3.2 billion before Christmas, “we’re still on track to get to the moon in 2024.
Meanwhile, President Trump is seeking the votes of women voters in a bid to be re-elected in the Nov. 3 election. Trump has vowed to nominate a woman sometime this week to fill the vacancy left by the death of the late Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg.
Polls show Trump’s support among female voters, especially white female suburban voters, trails sharply behind Democratic presidential candidate Biden.
Three projects are competing for the contract to develop the Lunar Module, in which two astronauts would land on the surface of the moon from the Orion spacecraft.
One of the developers of the lunar module is Blue Origin, a company founded by Amazon’s CEO Bezos. The company is developing the capsule jointly with Draper, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman. The other two projects are being developed by Musk’s SpaceX and Dynetics.
“Artemis I is scheduled to launch an unmanned spacecraft around the Moon in 2021, while Artemis II is scheduled to launch a manned spacecraft around the Moon in 2023 and Artemis III is scheduled to land on the Moon in 2024. The astronauts will stay on the lunar surface for a week and will spend time collecting soil and rock specimens, searching for water and other resources, and conducting scientific experiments.
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