That mission, known as Artemis 1, is to be followed by a crewed circumlunar mission scheduled for as early as 2022 (Artemis 2) and then the first crewed lunar landing since Apollo (Artemis 3). NASA’s first heavy-lift Space Launch System “will be fully assembled by the end of this year,” Pence said, in preparation for an uncrewed test flight around the moon and back that’s set for next year. Pence said Bridenstine told him that with Congress’ support, “we can actually start ‘bending metal’ on the lander in the next year … whatever that means.” For what it’s worth, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture is among several companies proposing lander concepts for moon missions. Bridenstine also obliquely addressed the rivalry between Marshall and Johnson Space Center in Texas, promising that JSC “is going to be very involved” in lander development. He referred to last week’s announcement that NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama would be in charge of developing a crew-capable lunar lander – one of the pieces in the Artemis puzzle that still has to be identified. At the next National Space Council meeting, Bridenstine is tasked with presenting a plan “to stabilize the Space Launch System and Orion programs and prevent future cost and schedule overruns.”īridenstine pointed out that NASA is already working on elements of Project Artemis, which aims to send the “next man and the first woman” to the moon by 2024. The recommendations give NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine a 60-day timeline for designating an office and submitting a plan for sustainable lunar surface exploration and the development of technologies and capabilities for crewed missions to Mars. Instead, administration officials – led by Vice President Mike Pence – summarily approved a set of recommendations aimed at fostering cooperation with commercial ventures and international partners on NASA’s moon-to-Mars initiative. In contrast to some of the council’s past meetings, today’s session at the National Air and Space Museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia produced no Space Policy Directives with capital letters. The latest meeting of the National Space Council provided a forum to build support for NASA’s twin-focus plan to send astronauts to the moon in preparation for trips to Mars – and for the idea of using nuclear-powered rockets to get there. The space shuttle Discovery towers over him. Vice President Mike Pence delivers opening remarks during the sixth meeting of the National Space Council at the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F.
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