[ad_1]
Former Republican Speaker of the House New Gingrich, alongside a US Army General and former Michael Jackson publicist, offers a $ 2 billion prize to the first private space company to land Americans on the Moon and establish a lunar base, politico reports.
The contest would pit Elon Musk against Jeff Bezos and represent a small fraction of the $ 50 billion that NASA plans to use for its next 2024 mission, dubbed Artemis. The White House has not yet responded to Gingrich's proposal.
This award could be an important incentive for companies such as SpaceX and the CEO of Amazon, Blue Origins, supported by Jeff Bezos, to try to do it first.
"I think people would be shocked at how quickly they can move," said Gingrich in an interview, quoted by politico.
NASA recently disagreed with Congress and the White House over its ambitious plan to send American astronauts back to the moon. Projected costs keep climbing, as Congress digs in shock from the shock of stickers.
Gingrich represents an insurgency of NASA critics who believe that sending Americans to the moon will not have to cost as much as NASA predicts.
But White House leaders may not be on the same page as Gingrich. President Donald Trump has attempted to divert the attention of the moon, forcing everyone to scratch their heads with confusion.
Newt Gingrich's proposal has also been widely criticized online.
"Dear Senator Shelby (R-AL), do we have an idea for you," wrote Casey Dreier, Senior Space Policy Advisor to the Planetary Society sarcastic tweet aujourd & # 39; hui. "Please, allocate $ 2 billion to CA and WA companies in the hope of being able to then lay off tens of thousands of people. [NASA] workers in Alabama. "
But the private space industry is making giant strides, reducing with each step the cost of what could one day mean the next leap forward for humanity.
SpaceX is working hard to make the fast return to the moon a reality: its very powerful Starship rocket could someday allow 100 tons of cargo or 100 passengers to travel to the moon and beyond. The lunar lander New Glenn and Blue Moon Blue Origins may soon allow Americans to travel again the lunar surface.
It's impossible to say when exactly this will happen – in front of or behind NASA's Artemis calendar – at this point. If it were to happen to Musc, it could happen as early as 2021. Bezos wants to get there by 2024.
In other words, the race is paid or not.
READ MORE: Newt Gingrich trying to sell Trump on a cheap moon plan[[[[politico]
More about the future missions of the moon: NASA official: SpaceX's moon chances are "thin"
[ad_2]
Source link