[SpaceDaily] NASA's Moon-landing plans, as they were depicted by the agency, consist in developing a blueprint on how to get astronauts to the lunar surface in the next five years, but the announcement has caused a stir worldwide, given Trump's prior directive to build up a special Space Force within the Department of the Air Force.
In an interview after a speech he delivered at a workshop on potential astrophysics missions on 1 April, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine made an eye-popping announcement that he hopes to develop an initial plan within the next couple of weeks for sending a manned vehicle to the surface of the Moon by 2024, four years ahead of schedule.
The announcement came on the heels of Vice President Mike Pence announcing the new goal of landing humans at the south pole of the moon by 2024 in his 26 March speech in Huntsville, noting that NASA already had such a plan. Bridenstine said that the initiative Pence mentioned referred to the earlier goal of humans on the moon by 2028, however, now they are working quickly to push it forward. |