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NASA reveals that sending first woman and next man to the moon by 2024 is “ unlikely ” due to lack of funds, scheduling problems and the impact of coronavirus on operations
- NASA’s Artemis mission would have started in 2024, but a report says otherwise
- The report cites a number of concerns such as funding, scheduling and scope
- NASA says it has yet to complete and test key vehicles such as the lunar lander
- Its operations were also impacted by the coronavirus pandemic
- In mid-April, NASA had to close 12 of its 18 major facilities due to the virus
- The agency had applied for $ 1.4 billion in funding and received $ 600 million
NASA first announced plans to send the first woman and next man to the moon by 2024 last year, but a new report says reaching the target date is “ unlikely ”.
The report, titled “NASA’s 2020 Top Management and Performance Challenges Report,” highlights a number of challenges including the funding, scheduling and scope of the Artemis mission.
Some of the biggest concerns relate to the mission’s key technologies, such as the production and certification of the Space Launch System rocket and the completion of the Orion crew capsule.
Among the technological limitations, NASA’s plans were affected by the coronavirus: as of mid-April, 12 of the agency’s 18 main facilities were closed and could not meet the necessary timelines.
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NASA first announced plans to send the first woman and next man to the moon by 2024 last year, but a new report says reaching the target date is “ unlikely ”
“We believe the Agency will have a hard time landing astronauts on the moon by the end of 2024,” the report reads.
At the very least, reaching a date close to this ambitious goal – and reaching Mars in 2030 – will require strong, consistent and sustained leadership from the President, Congress and NASA, as well as stable and timely funding.
“For its part, NASA must determine the true long-term costs of its human exploration programs, establish realistic programs, define system requirements and mission planning, form or consolidate international partnerships, and exploit commercial space capabilities.”
NASA was initially looking to 2028 for its Artemis mission, however President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence had encouraged the agency to accelerate their efforts and target the mission four years earlier.
Some of the biggest concerns relate to the mission’s key technologies, such as the production and certification of the Space Launch System rocket and the completion of the Orion crew capsule.
Trump criticized NASA months later for aiming to bring astronauts back to the moon by 2024, saying the agency should instead focus on “ much larger ” initiatives like going to Mars, reducing its previous support for the initiative. lunar.
“For all the money we’re spending, NASA should NOT talk about going to the moon – we did it 50 years ago,” the president wrote on Twitter. ‘They should focus on the much bigger things we are doing, including Mars (of which the Moon is a part), Defense and Science
President-elect Joe Biden’s Democratic Party notes that it supports “NASA’s work to get Americans back to the moon and further to Mars, taking the next step in exploring our solar system,” but did not address the 2024 goal. .
NASA was initially looking to 2028 for its Artemis mission, however President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence had encouraged the agency to accelerate their efforts and steer the mission four years earlier.
Funding is a huge part of the Artemis mission, as NASA requested $ 1.4 billion from the US government to create the lunar lander that would take astronauts to the lunar surface.
However, the request was not fully granted – only $ 600 million was given.
In addition to the astronaut landings, NASA had plans to build a “Lunar Gateway” outpost that should have been orbiting the moon by now.
“We anticipate further scheduling delays and cost increases, making it unlikely that the Gateway will be available for the planned lunar landing in 2024,” NASA shared in the report.
NASA will land the first woman and next man on the moon in 2024 as part of the Artemis mission
Artemis was the twin sister of Apollo and goddess of the moon in Greek mythology.
NASA has chosen her to personify its path back to the Moon, which will see astronauts return to the lunar surface by 2024, including the first woman and the next man.
Artemis 1, formerly Exploration Mission-1, is the first in a series of increasingly complex missions that will allow human exploration of the Moon and Mars.
Artemis 1 will be the first integrated flight test of NASA’s deep space exploration system: the Orion spacecraft, Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, and ground systems at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Artemis 1 will be an unmanned flight that will provide a foundation for human exploration of deep space and demonstrate our commitment and ability to extend human existence to the Moon and beyond.
During this flight, the spacecraft will launch on the world’s most powerful rocket and fly farther than any spacecraft built for humans has ever flown.
It will travel 280,000 miles (450,600 km) from Earth, thousands of miles beyond the Moon over the course of a mission of approximately three weeks.
Artemis 1, formerly Exploration Mission-1, is the first in a series of increasingly complex missions that will allow human exploration of the Moon and Mars. This graphic explains the various stages of the mission
Orion will stay in space longer than any astronaut ship has done without docking at a space station and will return home faster and warmer than ever.
With this first exploration mission, NASA is leading the next steps in human exploration in deep space where astronauts will build and begin testing the near-moon systems needed for missions to the lunar surface and exploration to other, more distant destinations. from Earth, including Mars.
They will take the crew on a different trajectory and test Orion’s critical systems with humans on board.
The SLS rocket will start from an initial configuration capable of sending more than 26 metric tons to the Moon, to a final configuration that can send at least 45 metric tons.
Together, Orion, SLS and Kennedy’s ground systems will be able to meet the most demanding needs of crew and cargo missions in deep space.
Eventually NASA seeks to establish a sustainable human presence on the Moon by 2028 as a result of the Artemis mission.
The space agency hopes this colony will discover new scientific discoveries, demonstrate new technological advances, and lay the foundation for private companies to build a lunar economy.
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