NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, on Sunday, termed the Moon the ideal site for testing humanity’s deep space goals as the agency gears itself up for the next phase of the Artemis program to the Moon.
A Proving Ground
In an interview with Face the Nation, Isaacman said that humanity was “lucky” to be “gifted a moon that’s four and a half days” that could be used as a “proving ground” for humanity. “There will be a lunar economy someday,” Isaacman said, adding that there would be mines on asteroids in the future.
Isaacman also said that the U.S. faces stiff competition from China in the space race. “We are very much in a space race right now and the Chinese are moving at incredible speeds,” Isaacman said. He added that China was capable of doing what Soviet Russia could not do during the Cold War.
“The Chinese will land their Taikonauts on the moon. There’s no question. The question is, will the United States return before them, and will we do so in a different way this time?” the NASA Administrator said. China is targeting a 2029 moon landing, compared to NASA’s 2028 Artemis IV mission, Isaacman said.
Lunar Base Goals
Isaacman said that NASA will be testing out the SLS rocket, as well as Space Exploration Technologies Corp.‘s (NASDAQ:SPCX) Starship and Blue Origin‘s New Glenn rocket. “We’re launching missions constantly on a near-monthly cadence in 2027 to build the moon base so we have that enduring presence, that proving ground for Mars,” he said.
He also touted astronauts having a lunar terrain vehicle on the moon in 2028. Isaacman also said that NASA was providing “subject matter experts” as well as helping Blue Origin in other ways to help the company. He also hailed the healthy space launch market in the U.S.
“I would say early 2030s, the moon is going to be like the International Space Station,” the NASA Administrator said, adding that crews would spend “pretty extended periods of time [on the moon] as we learn in that environment and prepare for Mars.”
Artemis III Mission, Elon Musk’s Moon City Plans
All eyes are set on the upcoming Artemis III mission following Artemis II’s success. The mission is a low-Earth-orbit mission launching in 2027 that will test the docking and rendezvous capabilities of Orion and the test versions of the commercial human landing systems developed by SpaceX and Jeff Bezos-backed Blue Origin.
Meanwhile, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has targeted establishing a self-growing city on the Moon. He has said that the goal could be achieved in less than 10 years on the Moon compared to Mars.
Check out more of Benzinga’s Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link.
Photo courtesy: Pandora Pictures / Shutterstock.com
Login to comment