NASA is reorganizing to prepare for future missions to the Moon and Mars

As he prepares to return to the Moon, ideally sometime in 2024, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson is creating two new mission directions. With this move, the agency separates its current direction of the human exploration and operations mission into an exploration systems development mission direction (ESDMD) and a space operations mission direction. NASA said it was making the change in response to the growing number of missions it was conducting in low Earth orbit, in addition to plans it had to explore deep space in the future.

He also announced who heads these units. Jim Free, a NASA veteran who has worked with the space agency since 1990, is ESDMD’s new associate administrator, while Kathy Lueders holds the equivalent position in the Space Operations Mission Directorate. Prior to becoming the very first woman to oversee human spaceflight at NASA, Lueders managed the Commercial Crew Program. As for what the two units will do, ESDMD will oversee the development of programs essential to Project Artemis and, possibly, manned space flight to Mars. Meanwhile, his counterpart will focus on launch operations, including those involving the International Space Station, with an eye on lunar missions later.

According to NASA, the reorganization is ultimately about looking to the next 20 years. The new structure will allow one unit to focus on human spaceflight while the other builds future space systems. In this way, the agency says there will be a constant cycle of development and operations to help it move forward with its space exploration goals.

“This reorganization positions NASA and the United States for success as we venture further into the cosmos than ever before, while supporting the continued commercialization of space and research on the International Space Station,” said Nelson. “It will also allow the United States to maintain its leadership in space for decades to come.”