After taking over charge, President Joe Biden issued executive orders nullifying his predecessor Donald Trump's orders. However, he left NASA untouched. That would mean the Artemis program and revisiting of the Moon would remain, and the first woman on the alien surface would be an American. The next humans on the Moon would be a man and woman, both from the United States. That would happen within the next few years. White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed this at a news briefing on Thursday. She added that the Artemis program would send another man and the first woman to the Moon and set the pace for future missions to Mars to demonstrate America's values.
However, there was no mention of timeframe. Former Vice President Mike Pence had indicated 2024 as the target for the first crewed landing on the Moon.
The BBC says in 2017, Mike Pence had announced that NASA would set 2028 as a target for revisiting the Moon. Later, in 2019, he reset the timeline to accelerate the mission. There were issues related to funding the landing element, bringing the astronauts from lunar orbit down to the surface. It is described as the Human Landing System HLS. NASA wanted $3.3 bn in 2021 but received much less. That would have an impact on the schedule. In July 2019, NASA said it was determined to see the first woman on the Moon.
NASA has a tough task on hand
Apart from the Human Landing System, NASA has to worry about other parts of the Artemis Moon architecture.
The BBC adds these are the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System SLS rocket. The Orion capsule and service module are for the first Artemis mission and would carry out an unmanned loop around the Moon. These units are available at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, and will launch sometime in 2021. NASA has already inducted a team of astronauts for the Artemis mission to the Moon and Mars.
The America Space Agency has positioned robots on the distant planet. These are Curiosity and InSIght and have been operating on the red planet 24X7 to send back data to ground control.
The Artemis program of NASA is a waypoint to Mars
The Space Launch System SLS rocket is also available. It is at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, waiting for testing.
This is the "hotfire" test where the four engines will burn for a specified period. It will take place during the latter part of February. The BBC goes on to add that the earlier test was incomplete because of some technical problems. There are more than one Artemis missions scheduled. The Orion and SLS hardware required for two subsequent missions is under assembly. The third flight is important because that will be a manned one. It will see humans land on the Moon for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972. The combined efforts of Renewable Energy, robotics, and Artificial Intelligence are invaluable while working in remote locations. Astronauts who undertake missions to alien planets would be in search of lifeforms and possible colonization.
They would also be exploring the terrain to locate natural resources that would be useful to humankind.
NASA announced the names of Artemis astronauts
According to Engineering News, NASA announced the names of astronauts selected for the Artemis program in December. The first mission would be unmanned, and the astronauts would fly subsequent ones. Work on it began under the Trump administration, and the new US administration of Joe Biden confirmed that the Artemis program would go ahead. The earlier schedule of Artemis crewed landing on the Moon was 2024, which might undergo revision. Some in the US House of Representatives (both Democrats and Republicans) had suggested postponing it to 2028. Until now, 12 people have walked on the Moon from 1969 to 1972, and they were men. Now, a woman would join the elite group.
