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NASA is revamping its office of human spaceflight, a move the agency says will help it put boots on the moon and on Mars.
The space agency announced today (September 21) that it is splitting the current Directorate of the Human Exploration and Operations Mission (HEOMD) into two new entities: the Directorate of the Development of Human Systems Mission. exploration (ESDMD) and the Space Operations Mission Directorate (SOMD).
“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, “NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a press release. “It will also allow the United States to maintain its leadership in space for decades to come.”
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ESDMD will be responsible for the development of critical systems and technologies for NASA Artemis program, which aims to land astronauts on the Moon over the next few years and establish a lasting human presence on and around Earth’s closest neighbor by the end of the 2020s.
ESDMD will also set NASA’s broader “Moon to Mars” exploration strategy, of which Artemis is an integral part, agency officials said. (NASA aims to land humans on March in the 2030s, taking advantage of skills and techniques acquired during Artemis’ lunar effort.)
SOMD, meanwhile, will be responsible for crewed launches and ongoing manned space flight operations, including activities on the International Space Station and commercialization of low Earth orbit, a NASA priority for the coming years. The SOMD will also be responsible for crewed operations on and around the moon once they are operational.
“The creation of two separate mission directions will ensure that these critical areas have targeted monitoring teams in place to support and execute the mission,” NASA officials wrote in the same statement. “This approach with two domains focused on human spaceflight allows one mission branch to operate in space while the other builds future space systems, so there is a constant cycle of development and operations for advance NASA’s space exploration goals. “
Kathy lueders, the current director of HEOMD, will lead SOMD. ESDMD will be led by Free jim, who has held several senior positions at NASA over the years. From 2013 to 2016, for example, he was director of NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Ohio. And from 2016 to 2017, he held the position of Deputy Technical Assistant at HEOMD.
NASA will implement the restructuring over the next few months. The changes will not alter any missions or the roles played by agency research centers, NASA officials said.
The HEOMD split is a throwback to the way things used to be at NASA. In 2011, the agency created HEOMD by combining the Space Operations and Exploration Systems mission directions.
Mike Wall is the author of “The low“(Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about finding alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us on twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook.
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