Soon, it won’t be once in a blue moon that humans will travel to Earth’s natural satellite, with humans set to live on the moon within the decade, according to a NASA official.
NASA is planning for humans to reside on the moon and views its recent Artemis I launch last week as a critical stepping stone to further that goal, Howard Hu, the program manager of the Orion spacecraft aboard the Artemis flight, explained.
WATCH: ARTEMIS I LAUNCHES FOR MOON FROM KENNEDY SPACE CENTER
“Certainly in this decade, we’re going to have people living [on the moon],” he told the BBC. “Not only are we able to work in delivering people to the moon, getting people down to the surface of the moon, they still have to have infrastructure.”
Orion is designed to house astronauts on their treks to far-away space destinations such as the moon or Mars. Following a slew of setbacks and delays, the Artemis I flight launched last week, paving the way for Orion to make its fly by the moon on Monday, according to NASA.
“It’s more than living — it’s really about science,” Hu added. “We’re going to be sending people down to the surface, and they’re going to be living on that surface and doing science.”
Humans haven’t landed on the moon since the 1970s, but now, the United States is starting to regain its super heavy-lift capabilities critical to thrusting humans that far into space, following the successful launch of the Space Launch System last Wednesday.
Additionally, space tycoon Elon Musk has been overseeing the development of SpaceX’s Starship rocket, which similarly touts super heavy-lift capabilities. Unlike SLS, Starship is designed to be fully reusable and is still in development.
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Orion made its spaceflight unmanned but is harboring equipment to test the toll of the trek on the human body. The launch on Wednesday followed two attempts in September and August that were called off due to system issues.
“It’s the first step we’re taking to long-term deep space exploration, for not just the United States but for the world,” Hu added. “And I think this is an historic day for Nasa, but it’s also an historic day for all the people who love human space flight and deep space exploration.”
Orion is expected to return to earth on Dec. 11. NASA has also been eyeing those systems as it hatches plans for a long-awaited trip to Mars.
