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The Trump administration adds an additional $ 1.6 billion to the $ 21 billion NASA 2020 budget request to revive return plans American astronauts on the moon In 2024, four years earlier than planned, NASA announced Monday.
In a surprise announcement, the agency's administrator, Jim Bridenstine, said the moon revitalization program will be called Artemis, named after the Greek goddess of the moon.
"The first time humanity went to the moon, it was under the name of Apollo," he said. "The Apollo program has changed history forever.It turns out that Apollo had a twin sister, Artemis.It happens to be the goddess of the moon.Our astronaut office is very diverse and Highly Qualified I think it's very beautiful Fifty years after Apollo, the Artemis program will carry the next man – and the first woman – to the moon. "
President Trump announced the request for additional budget of the administration in a tweet in the afternoon, writing: "We are restoring @NASA to greatness and we are returning to the moon and then to Mars.I am updating my budget to include an additional $ 1.6 billion so that we can get back to it. space in a GREAT WAY! "
Boeing
NASA, of course, is already in space significantly with the ongoing operations aboard the International Space Station, development of new ferries to equip US astronauts in Earth orbit and work in progress to develop a new super rocket – the space launch system – and Orion crew pods to bring astronauts back to the moon.
NASA is also developing plans for the lunar space station "Gateway" which will be assembled in orbit around the moon to serve as a starting point for potential surface-driven flights using commercially developed landing gears and climbing vehicles. .
But until recently, NASA was planning to run this program over a period of 10 years, a schedule already difficult, requiring the first boots on the moon in 2028, some 59 years later. Neil Armstrong"giant leap for humanity."
But on March 27, Vice President Mike Pence, president of the National Council of Reconstructed Space, gave NASA new orders during a speech at the Marshall Space Flight Center in the United States. ;agency.
"On the order of the President of the United States, the government and the United States have a policy of returning American astronauts to the moon in the next five years," he said. "The first woman and the next man on the moon will be American astronauts, launched by US rockets from American soil."
The lunar mission architecture remains in place, but development will have to be accelerated quickly to give NASA every chance to meet the ambitious timetable set by the administration at 2024. And that will cost the # 39; money.
"This additional investment is a down payment on NASA 's efforts to land humans on the moon by 2024," Bridenstine told reporters at an evening teleconference. "In the coming years, we will need additional funds, but it is a good sum that gets us out of the door very hard and prepares us for the future."
According to a NASA fact sheet, the new budget request includes $ 1 billion "to allow NASA to support the development of commercial lunar landing systems three years earlier than planned." The acquisition will allow NASA to purchase an integrated lunar commercial lander that will transport astronauts from the lunar orbit to the lunar surface and back. "
The development of the bridges will be limited to what is necessary to make the station a viable transit base for surface movements. This will release $ 321 million for other expenses related to the moon.
An additional $ 651 million is being allocated to Space Launch System SLS and the Orion Space Shuttle. Lunar surface technologies and propulsion systems would receive an additional $ 132 million, including $ 90 million for robotic exploration and research near the south pole of the moon.
NASA
In a video message sent to NASA employees by YouTube, Bridenstine said the additional funding "will allow us to go ahead with design, development and exploration".
"This will allow us, among other things, to accelerate the development of the space launch system (rocket) and Orion, to support the development of a human lunar landing system and precursor capabilities. on the lunar surface, including an increased robotic exploration of the polar regions of the moon.
"While there are many steps ahead in the budgeting and crediting process, we at NASA should all be very proud and excited about this unique opportunity," said Bridenstine in his video address. "Our efforts will include new work at NASA centers to provide the key technologies and scientific payloads needed for the bridge and lunar surface, in addition to the efforts already deployed across the country.
"In addition, we envision strong business partnerships that will help increase innovation and reduce costs for the US taxpayer."
Additional funds will be needed in the following budgets, but no details were immediately available. Some initial estimates could reach an additional $ 8 billion a year, but Bridenstine insisted that these figures were far beyond what NASA envisioned. But he added that higher amounts will be needed in the next few years.
"We are working diligently," he said. "Know that any development program like this follows a very standard bell curve where the initial years are quite low, then accelerate and then go back down to a sustainable operation.
"The answer is that we expect that in the coming years, the current amount will exceed $ 1.6 billion by 2020. We all know that and we work day after day to get those numbers."
Bill Gerstenmaier, director of space operations for NASA, told industry officials and engineers earlier this month that the speed of action of Congress is an essential part of keeping the schedule.
To put astronauts on the moon by the end of 2024, "I honestly need a budget on October 1," he said. "As a rule, we are in a constant resolution.I need a mechanism to get financing, I will need some ability to transfer money between accounts. I'm going to need congressional support to do that. "
As for the calendar, "it sticks on paper, it looks like we can do something," he said. "But I will tell you that it is not easy and that it is not without risk."
"We are having a lot of trouble getting the budget and making it sustainable," said Gerstenmaier. "If we go through another wonderful holiday like this year, it's the end of the world for us.This is a plan, but we will try to expose all these risks, all these dependencies and then see if this country is ready for this challenge. "
Gateway modules will be launched on commercial rockets, while the SLS mega-amplifier is used to send astronauts near the moon aboard Orion capsules. Gateway will include a power and propulsion module at one end that would be used to provide solar energy and to modify the orbital parameters as needed to allow access to the entire moon, not just the equatorial regions explored by the Apollo astronauts.
NASA is seeking Gateway module designs from various US aerospace companies and is encouraging foreign partners to participate in the European Space Agency's participation in the Orion program. The ESA provides the essential service module of the Orion capsule, life support systems, power and propulsion systems.
Orion astronauts will dock at the Gateway Station, conduct scientific observations, supervise robotic landings on the moon, and eventually embark on reusable lunar landers and fly to the surface. After completing their missions, the astronauts will use an ascent step to return to Gateway where their Orion pod will wait to bring them back to Earth.
The general target area for astronaut landings is the south pole of the moon, where ice is present in permanently shaded craters.
Ice access to the Moon is a kind of Holy Grail, as it can be melted to provide water to astronauts and can be broken down, by solar electrolysis, into hydrogen and oxygen, providing, in theory, fuel for rocket, air. and water.
But moving from Gateway to the surface is a major obstacle given the limited time available. In an interview with CBS News on April 9, Bridenstine said that one of the most difficult obstacles to meet the challenge of 2024 is the development of a lander.
"The most important piece will be the landing capacity," he said. "The lunar landing gear is hard to build, it takes time, it takes money, and we do not have that capability, we did it in the 1960s. the planet does not have the ability to land on the surface of the moon, and we will immediately start building that capability, which will be unique, impressive, and allow our astronauts to reach the moon's surface. "
Blue origin
The same day, Bridenstine talked about the challenge of landing on the moon, founder of Amazon Jeff Bezos unveiled a lunar lander called Blue Moon it could put 6.5 tons on the surface of the moon. He added that Blue Moon, making a climb, could meet the NASA schedule for the landing of astronauts on the surface by 2024.
According to Bezos, Blue Origin engineers began designing the satellite three years ago, which allowed it to offer a ready solution to its landing problem.
"I like that," Bezos said about the agency's expedited plan to return to the moon. "It's the right thing to do – for those who do arithmetic at home, it's 2024, and we can help keep it on schedule, but only because we started three years ago. to return to the moon, this time stay. "
According to Mr Gerstenmaier, NASA is awaiting landing proposals from several companies and hopes to have contracts in place by September or October.
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