(ORDO NEWS) — Humans will be living and working on the moon by 2030, a NASA official said.
“We’re going to send people to the surface of the Moon and they’ll live on it and do science,” said Howard Hu, head of NASA’s Orion lunar spacecraft program.
Last week, NASA successfully launched the powerful new Space Launch System, or SLS, rocket, sending the Orion spacecraft to the moon.
The repeatedly delayed launch launched NASA’s Artemis mission, marking the first major step towards returning humans to the Moon in nearly 50 years.
The Orion was uncrewed this time, as its goal is to test its ability to get a capsule to the moon and back. But next time, he is expected to bring astronauts with him when he circles the moon.
If all goes well, the same spacecraft could be used to land humans on the lunar surface for the first time since 1972, including the first female astronaut.
The current plan is for the crew to land near the moon’s south pole, where they will spend about a week looking for signs of water. If the precious liquid is found, it could be used to fuel rockets en route to Mars.
This will mean that permanent human settlements will need to be built to support mining and scientific activities.
“This is the first step towards long-term deep space exploration, not only for the United States, but for the entire world.”
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