NASA might meet the aggressive moon-landing timeline the administration of Trump has established, but it is not going to be easy according to experts. NASA has been instructed on 26th of March, on Tuesday, by Vice President Mike Pence, that by 2024 there must be astronauts on the surface of the moon, which makes the plan to happen four years earlier than supposed. Pence said that in order to safeguard the dominance and leadership of the country in space, such urgency is required.
“The United States must remain first in space in this century as in the last, not just to propel our economy and secure our nation, but above all, because the rules and values of space, like every great frontier, will be written by those who have the courage to get there first and the commitment to stay,” the vice president said during the fifth meeting of the National Space Council, which he chairs.
NASA might be able to send astronauts to the moon by 2024, but it’s not going to be easy
Jim Bridenstine, the NASA Administrator, proved that he is confident the achievement of the goal can happen in 2024. Lockheed Martin, the aerospace firm, has also agreed on that. The firm is Orion’s prime contractor, and that is the crew capsule that will take NASA astronauts towards the moon and other destinations in deep space, as well.
For example, a crewed lunar lander can be built relatively quickly by the company, according to Lockheed representatives, if the leveraging technologies developed for Orion will be used. By 2024 this lander could touch down and if an “early version” of the Gateway is the place from where it departs. Gateway is planned by NASA to start being built in 2022, and it would be a moon-orbiting space station and a fulcrum for landing operations. According to the general manager and vice president of commercial, civil space department at Lockheed Martin Space, Lisa Callahan, this schedule is aggressive, but it does not mean that NASA can’t achieve it.
Andre Blair s is the lead editor for . He holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Toronto, and a Master of Science in Public Health (M.S.P.H.) from the School of Public Health, Department of Health Administration, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Andre specializes in environmental health, but writes on a variety of issues.