The previous goal of 2024 “was not based on technical feasibility,” according to Bill Nelson, the NASA administrator. They hope to get there before China, which has a “very aggressive and good” space program.
The US delays its return to the Luna by 2025. Part of Artemis program has been delayed compared to the previous goal of stepping on the Moon in 2024, due to legal and technological problems and the pandemic.
The deadline set by the administration of former President Donald Trump “was not based on technical feasibility“, according to has affirmed the administrator of the NASA, Bill Nelson.
Before stepping on the Moon, NASA will focus on the flight tests of the unmanned Artemis I mission and the crewed Artemis II mission, both of which will orbit the Moon. It will not be until 2025 that the manned mission Artemis III steps on the lunar surface.
Artemis II will send astronauts aboard the Orion capsule farther than any human has ever traveled. The cost of developing such a capsule amounts to $ 9.3 billion.
On the other hand, Nelson pointed out that China has a program “very aggressive and good” in the space. The interest of NASA and the US is to return “first” to the Moon: “Returning to the Moon as quickly and safely as possible is a priority of the agency.”
He also recalled that China installed a space station in a short period of time, that it was the second nation to land a rover on Mars, where they are preparing the return with samples from the red planet, and that they will have robotic missions on the Moon.
“Going forward, NASA is planning at least 10 moon landings. The agency needs significant increases in funding for future lander competition. There is a lot to learn on the Moon to go to Mars,” Nelson said. There is still a long way to go to research habitat building and life in hostile territory to prepare astronauts to take them to mars.
Kingston is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
