Moon. (Luna)
The space race is heating up again in ways we haven't seen since the end of the Cold War. We haven't been to the moon since 1972 but a number of private companies and national agencies have begun looking to our nearest celestial neighbor with renewed interest, not only as a site of scientific study but also as a fuel resource and potential staging area for trips further out into the solar system.
Last December, Trump signed Space Policy Directive-1, which directs NASA "to lead an innovative and sustainable program of exploration with commercial and international partners to enable human expansion across the solar system and to bring back to Earth new knowledge and opportunities."
Essentially, the move will help NASA better organize exploratory efforts with its international partners and private spaceflight companies."I don't even like to use the word return -- to go forward to the moon, sustainably," NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine told a Senate subcommittee hearing in September. "What we're doing now is entirely different than what we did back [during the Apollo era]."
To that end, NASA has since submitted to Congress a plan to establish the necessary infrastructure to not just get us back to the moon but to return there regularly. Dubbed the "Exploration Campaign", this plan focuses on three core areas: low-Earth orbit (LEO), the crewed missions to the moon for long-term habitation and study, and robotic missions to Mars and beyond. The Gateway is going to be wild. It will consist of at least "a power and propulsion element [with] habitation, logistics and airlock capabilities," per NASA. The power and propulsion bits will be launched first, around 2022, via an SLS rocket. These will not only allow the Gateway to adjust its lunar orbit, but they'll also serve as communications platforms for space-to-Earth and space-to-moon messages. The habitation elements are expected to be delivered in 2024 and should allow astronauts accommodations for up to 60 days.
Moon. (Luna)
The space race is heating up again in ways we haven't seen since the end of the Cold War. We haven't been to the moon since 1972 but a number of private companies and national agencies have begun looking to our nearest celestial neighbor with renewed interest, not only as a site of scientific study but also as a fuel resource and potential staging area for trips further out into the solar system.
Last December, Trump signed Space Policy Directive-1, which directs NASA "to lead an innovative and sustainable program of exploration with commercial and international partners to enable human expansion across the solar system and to bring back to Earth new knowledge and opportunities."
Essentially, the move will help NASA better organize exploratory efforts with its international partners and private spaceflight companies."I don't even like to use the word return -- to go forward to the moon, sustainably," NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine told a Senate subcommittee hearing in September. "What we're doing now is entirely different than what we did back [during the Apollo era]."
To that end, NASA has since submitted to Congress a plan to establish the necessary infrastructure to not just get us back to the moon but to return there regularly. Dubbed the "Exploration Campaign", this plan focuses on three core areas: low-Earth orbit (LEO), the crewed missions to the moon for long-term habitation and study, and robotic missions to Mars and beyond. The Gateway is going to be wild. It will consist of at least "a power and propulsion element [with] habitation, logistics and airlock capabilities," per NASA. The power and propulsion bits will be launched first, around 2022, via an SLS rocket. These will not only allow the Gateway to adjust its lunar orbit, but they'll also serve as communications platforms for space-to-Earth and space-to-moon messages. The habitation elements are expected to be delivered in 2024 and should allow astronauts accommodations for up to 60 days.