moon mission is very much on the cards and NASA has to meet a target of 2024. This is the 50th anniversary of the first man to set foot on the alien surface. Subsequently, attention shifted to Mars. However, thanks to the initiative of President Donald Trump, the focus is back to the moon. In December 2017, he wanted the American space agency to work towards sending humans there. Therefore, SpaceX is gearing up to send its Starship spacecraft by 2022 to pave the road for revisiting humans. Its president, Gwynne Shotwell, confirmed this in the course of interaction with NASA via teleconferencing.

Daily Mail UK reports the space agency zeroed in on SpaceX to handle activities connected with the moon mission. These include delivering payloads to the lunar surface, and returning humans to the moon. The target is 2024 and this was one of five companies selected. One of its competitors is 'Blue Origin' owned by Jeff Bezos. Elon Musk’s setup has an advantage over others because of its concept of reusable rockets that reduces costs. These have come as a boon to aerospace technology.

Success of the moon mission will help future ones

Starship spacecraft is still in the development stage.

It could undergo tests to ensure the success of the moon mission. One of the tests involves sending it 12 miles into the air. SpaceX has developed a re-usable spacecraft like its Falcon 9 rockets. Its current activities include work associated with Crew Dragon for NASA. This will be the vehicle to ferry astronauts to the international space station.

Work on it is nearly complete and it could carry its first human passengers shortly.

Daily Mail UK says Elon Musk is upbeat about the role of SpaceX in missions to the moon and Mars.

He is confident of Starship spacecraft delivering the goods. In his opinion, it would be one more step towards humans reaching Mars. The tentative time-frame for the first crewed mission to the red planet could be in the mid-2020s along with the Starship that could accommodate 100 passengers. He has visions of sending tourists to the Moon by 2024 and its success will open the door to Mars.

SpaceX works with NASA on the Moon mission

According to Space, the American space agency has opted for SpaceX to deliver robotic payloads to the moon via a specific program. Elon Musk’s company plans to get this done by its Starship and Super Heavy. These are a reusable spaceship-rocket duo created for humans to move between planets.

An official of the company says, “We are aiming to be able to drop Starship on the lunar surface in 2022." It has to face competition from other companies but it has many positives that work in its favor. NASA is planning for its Artemis program that envisages putting two astronauts on the lunar surface by 2024. One of them must be a woman. Subsequently, it will have to establish a long-term human presence there by 2028.