NASA Publishes Artemis Plan to Land First Woman, Next Man on Moon in 2024

NASA Publishes Artemis Plan to Land First Woman, Next Man on Moon in 2024

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said that the full $28 billion is needed for the Artemis moon program, designed to return astronauts to the moon by 2024.

The space agency published the Artemis Plan, which will see the first woman land on the lunar surface, as well as the next man. To date, only 12 people, all Americans, have landed on the moon.

“With bipartisan support from Congress, our 21st century push to the Moon is well within America’s reach,” Bridenstine said in a statement. “As we’ve solidified more of our exploration plans in recent months, we’ve continued to refine our budget and architecture. We’re going back to the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits.

"As we build up a sustainable presence, we’re also building momentum toward those first human steps on the Red Planet,” he added.

By sending astronauts back to the Moon, the White House wants to renew American leadership in space. There are also plans to extract valuable deposits of water-ice from the lunar South Pole. These could be used to make rocket fuel on the Moon - at a lower cost than carrying it from Earth - serving as the foundation for a lunar economy.

But Vice President Mike Pence has also cited concerns about China's spacefaring ambitions. In January 2019, the East Asian superpower became the first nation to softly land a robot rover on the far side of the Moon. The country is now preparing for its first mission to deliver samples of lunar soil to labs on Earth.

It has been developing a next generation spacecraft for Chinese astronauts that could fly to deep space destinations such as the Moon. Though China isn't on a timeline to get there by 2024, it could make considerable progress towards such a goal this decade.

Source:
https://www.foxnews.com/science/nasa-...

Source:
https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/na...

Source:
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-envi...