NASA Says Astronauts Are Unlikely to Land on the Moon by 2024 | Science

No.asa said it will be “difficult to land astronauts on the moon by the end of 2024”. The assessment by the agency’s inspector general office comes in a November 12 report entitled 2020 Report on NASA Leadership and Performance Challenges ”.

Initially, NASA was working towards 2028 for the return of astronauts to the moon, but in March 2019 the White House ordered to speed up the plans. In response, NASA developed the Artemis program, which aims to land the first woman and next man on the moon by 2024.

The report indicates cost and program overruns on critical technology components, such as the giant Space Launch System rocket and the Orion crew capsule. He also points out that NASA will receive far less than half of the money required to start developing a lunar lander.

However, the report qualifies his pessimism, stating: “At the very least, reaching any date close to this ambitious goal – and reaching Mars in 2030 – will require strong, consistent and sustained leadership from the president, Congress and NASA. in addition to stable and timely financing “.

President-elect Joe Biden’s Democratic party said it will “support NASA’s work to get Americans back to the moon and go further to Mars,” but did not commit until 2024.