NASA is hoping to send humans back to the moon by the end of this decade, and not just for a quick visit. The plan is to have human beings living and working there.
Howard Hu, manager of NASA's Orion program, told the BBC that last week's Artemis I launch was "the first step we're taking to long-term deep space exploration."
The Artemis I mission is a critical part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach. The rocket carried the uncrewed Orion spacecraft, which plans to travel approximately 40,000 miles beyond the moon to the "rigors of deep space" over 25.5 days, and return to Earth on December 11. NASA says it's an important test for the agency before flying astronauts on the Artemis II mission.
Hu says the next goal is to establish a permanent space station on the moon and have human beings living there "in this decade."
"We're going to be sending people down to the surface and they're going to be living on that surface and doing science," he said.
Hu said the Artemis missions are just the beginning to human space flight and deep space exploration, adding confidently that "we are going back to the moon."
"We're working towards a sustainable program and this is the vehicle that will carry the people that will land us back on the moon again," Hu said. "The Artemis missions enable us to have a sustainable platform and transportation system that allows us to learn how to operate in that deep space environment."
For Artemis II, NASA has its sights set on the lunar South Pole, a previously unexplored area of the moon. Crews will conduct field geology, deploy instruments, and collect samples that could have a profound impact on the future of deep space exploration and commerce, leading to lunar resource mining to reduce the amount of supplies like oxygen and hydrogen — key life sustaining elements and ingredients for rocket fuel — sent from Earth to support humans in deep space.
The ultimate goal, Hu says, is a voyage to Mars.
NASA is currently working with commercial and international partners to establish what it calls the Gateway, humanity’s first space station around the moon.
"Gateway will provide many capabilities for sustained exploration and research in deep space, including docking ports for a variety of visiting spacecraft, space for crew to live and work, and onboard science investigations to study heliophysics, human health, and life sciences, among other areas," NASA said.
The last time humans were on the moon was 50 years ago, when Apollo 17 landed on the lunar surface in December 1972.
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