Photo: NASA
On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy stood in front of Congress and said the U.S. “should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth." On July 20, 1969 it did.
Following several trips to the Moon, the Apollo program ended, and for decades humanity went back to looking at the satellite as it did for millennia, from Earth. But over the past few years, the craving of going back up there returned.
NASA repeatedly said it plans to return to the Moon sometime in 2028, its efforts being fueled by the rise of the commercial programs it runs with private companies. But that target is, according to U.S. government officials, too generous.
Speaking at a meeting at the National Space Council on Tuesday, vice president Mike Pence said the administration he is part of wants American boots on the Moon four years earlier, in 2024.
NASA seems to have quickly embraced the administration’s idea. The organization’s administrator, Jim Bridenstine, admitted this is “the right time for this challenge” and NASA is “up to the challenge.”
It’s not clear how this new strategy will affect ongoing plans NASA has together with its commercial partners, but it’s obvious some realignment of priorities will have to be made.
“We will take action in the days and weeks ahead to accomplish these goals. We have laid out a clear plan for NASA’s exploration campaign that cuts across three strategic areas: low-Earth orbit, the Moon, and Mars and deeper into space,” the administrator said.
“I have already directed a new alignment within NASA to ensure we effectively support this effort, which includes establishing a new mission directorate to focus on the formulation and execution of exploration development activities. We are calling it the Moon to Mars Mission Directorate.”
NASA repeatedly said it plans to return to the Moon sometime in 2028, its efforts being fueled by the rise of the commercial programs it runs with private companies. But that target is, according to U.S. government officials, too generous.
Speaking at a meeting at the National Space Council on Tuesday, vice president Mike Pence said the administration he is part of wants American boots on the Moon four years earlier, in 2024.
NASA seems to have quickly embraced the administration’s idea. The organization’s administrator, Jim Bridenstine, admitted this is “the right time for this challenge” and NASA is “up to the challenge.”
It’s not clear how this new strategy will affect ongoing plans NASA has together with its commercial partners, but it’s obvious some realignment of priorities will have to be made.
“We will take action in the days and weeks ahead to accomplish these goals. We have laid out a clear plan for NASA’s exploration campaign that cuts across three strategic areas: low-Earth orbit, the Moon, and Mars and deeper into space,” the administrator said.
“I have already directed a new alignment within NASA to ensure we effectively support this effort, which includes establishing a new mission directorate to focus on the formulation and execution of exploration development activities. We are calling it the Moon to Mars Mission Directorate.”
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