We are about to turn half a century since the first human being stepped on the Moon. We haven’t been back there since 1972, and many wonder when we’ll do it again, or even when we’ll hit other more ambitious goals, like Mars.
As well. NASA already has a detailed plan that aims to put a man and the first woman back on the lunar surface. But also, with the vision set to send humans to Mars. We tell you the details.
NASA wants to put humans back on the Moon by 2024 , but also to establish a constant presence there by 2028. What do you mean constant? In effect, that the Moon intends to become one more colony of the Earth, in an extension of the territory occupied by humans.
And that also means that the first commercial flights will begin to take place, that is, the first tourists from the Moon.
And how does NASA plan to make this happen? Thanks to the program called Artemis . It is a plan that details how, when and for how long the mission to put humans back on the Moon will be carried out. This plan is public and can be seen on the NASA website; its last update is dated June 2019.
The plan is baptized in a very poetic way, since Artemis is the twin sister of Apollo and goddess of the Moon in Greek mythology. When they land, the Artemis astronauts will set foot in a place where no human has ever been before: the south pole of the Moon. The next step will be to send humans to Mars; so Artemis represents the next era of exploration.
What technology is going to be used for this ambitious goal? It will be the SLS and Orion programs. The SLS (Space Launch System) rocket is the only rocket with the power and capacity necessary to transport astronauts into deep space aboard the spacecraft.
The crew will travel aboard the Orion spacecraft, capable of carrying out long-duration missions in space, and capable of safe reentry to Earth. These programs will require more than 60,000 workers across the United States.
When will it all start? Up to 11 launches are planned from 2020 to 2024.
In 2021, the first unmanned test flight with the SLS rocket with the Orion spacecraft integrated in the lunar orbit is scheduled to take place. What they have called Artemis program 1
By 2022, the first crew members will conduct a flight test aboard this spacecraft in the orbit of the Moon, in what has been called the Artemis 2 program.
This same year, the Gateway space station will begin to be built, which will remain in lunar orbit, in a similar way to the International Space Station is located in Earth orbit. This will be the place where the Orion spacecraft dock, and from where the astronauts will make the descent to the lunar surface.
To prepare this station, different modules will be launched separately. First, in the year 2022, the PPE module, which will be the first module to be part of the Gateway station. Then, in 2023, the MiniHab module will be launched, which will be the one that allows the docking of the Orion spacecraft at the Gateway station.
And finally, Artemis 3 will be the mission that places the first humans of the century on the Moon by the year 2024. It is very likely that they are two people, a man and a woman, although their identities are still unknown.
Starting in 2025 there will be successive commercial flights, and we may see up to one moon landing per year. And from then to 2028, the goal is to carry out successive long-term stays by humans on the Moon and programs and impact tests that prepare future human exploration on Mars.
Now, how much is all this going to cost?
The Trump administration plans to allocate 1.6 billion dollars. But it doesn’t seem like it’s enough at all.
One billion will be needed for the development of human lunar transport. 651 million for the completion of the SLS and Orion programs. 132 million for new technologies that allow astronauts to live and work; and 90 million will be needed for robotic exploration in the lunar south, because rovers are also going to be deployed there studying areas too difficult for humans to explore.
And you will say, what are we going to do there? What is the scientific return to this whole mission? Beyond expanding the limits of human knowledge, in areas such as astrophysics, heliophysics, and knowledge of the Moon and our own planet, or even understanding how to use the resources that we have on the Moon to sustain life …
This mission is transcendental for the human being: not only does it represent the next step in space exploration, but it also carries a meaning about who we are and what our place is in the cosmos.
