“Exactly 45 years ago, almost at this very minute, Jack became one of the last Americans to reach the moon. Today we promise not to be the last ”. With these words – which made reference to the astronaut Harrison Hagan, “Jack”, Schmitt – the president of the United States formally revived the project of sending manned spacecraft to our satellite again , which had not happened since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. .
The Space Policy Directive-1 (“Space Policy Directive 1”), signed by Trump last Monday, December 11, establishes the objectives of his administration not only on the Moon, but in the exploration of the Solar System , which would include Mars ” and perhaps, one day, to many worlds beyond ”, as the president said in the official ceremony. He was attended by exastronauts such as Buzz Aldrin, Eugene Cernan and Schmitt himself, or Peggy Whitson, still active.
Recently, NASA also announced that missions with humans traveling to Mars in the future would stop at the terrestrial satellite , where a set of facilities called Deep Space Gateway would be built.
“The directive that I am signing will redefine the American space program when it comes to exploration and discoveries,” Trump stressed. Its stated goal is to regain US leadership in space , thereby creating jobs and strengthening national security.
In principle, the presidential plan gives priority back to the Moon over Mars , contrary to what Barack Obama did during his term. In fact, the Democratic president canceled in 2010 plans to return astronauts to our satellite between 2015 and 2020. Previously, the two Bushes, father and son, had shown their interest in sending ships there, but the delays and lack of funding they thwarted the operation.
Question of money
But when will we again see an astronaut planting the Stars and Stripes flag on the lunar surface? Well, the Space Policy Directive 1 does not give details about it. Economic constraints once again overshadow the good intentions of American politicians : NASA currently spends $ 4 billion each year on human space exploration programs, with little room to increase the budget. And according to the agency’s calculations, the round trip would cost more than $ 100 billion. The only solution will be to cut from other programs.
It is also important to note that Russia, Japan, the European Space Agency, China, and various private companies also have their own plans to send people to the Moon. This is an incentive not to be left behind in the race and, at the same time, to sign collaboration agreements with companies or other state agencies.
If finally an American astronaut were to set foot on the lunar soil again, he would be the thirteenth to do so , thus succeeding his colleagues who landed in the three prodigious years in which the Apollo missions were sent, between 1969 and 1972. Will we witness a new “great step for humanity ”?
Source: New Space Policy Directive Calls for Human Expansion Across Solar System / NASA.
Image: Getty.
