The president directed NASA to land American astronauts on the Moon by 2024, and the agency is working to accelerate humanity’s return to the lunar surface by all means necessary.

“We’ve been given an ambitious and exciting goal. History has proven when we’re given a task by the president, along with the resources and the tools, we can deliver,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. “We are committed to making this happen. We have the people to achieve it. Now, we just need bipartisan support and the resources to get this done.”

Bridenstine confirmed at the 35th Space Symposium on April 9, 2019, that the agency’s proposed human lunar landing system architecture remains the plan to return crew to the surface as quickly as possible. The human lunar lander will be a public-private partnership working directly with American companies to expedite the return of Astronauts to the Moon’s surface by 2024. The South Pole continues to be the target of our exploration.

In order to best accomplish our goals in the next five years, NASA is now going forward to the Moon in two phases.

“First, we are focused on speed to land the next man, and first woman, on the Moon by 2024. Second, we will establish sustainable missions by 2028. To do that, we need our powerful Space Launch System to put the mass of reusable systems into deep space,” he said.

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/sending-american-astronauts-to-moon-in-2024-nasa-accepts-challenge/#:~:text=The%20human%20lunar%20lander%20will%20be%20a%20public-private,going%20forward%20to%20the%20Moon%20in%20two%20phases.

I am filled with childish enthusiasm by the thought of experiencing a Moon landing in my lifetime. The day it will happen, I will cancel everything, turn my phone off and call in sick for work if I have to. I am NOT going to miss that!

I was 7 years old when Armstrong took his "one small step". As a young man I had hoped to be around when a human set foot on Mars, then as years passed I just hoped to be around to see humans return to the Moon. As decades passed I began to think I wouldn't live to see either. Now, maybe, just maybe I can see both. Largely thanks to (IMO) SpaceX.

One of my lifelong friends called me the other day. He was beaming with pride and just had to tell someone. His oldest daughter had graduated with a masters in engineering from Purdue University a few years back and landed a job with NASA. He told me that she just informed him that she was working on a moon landing project. She was doing something with the issue of moon dust creating problems for the outside and inside of the landing craft. He didn't have much details, but you could tell that having a child work on this new endeavor to the moon filled him with joy.

Yes, this news has excited me, I too am looking forward to experiencing a moon landing, I can't wait to see mankind pushing boundaries again, imagine seeing the first colony on Mars, out of all the news in the last few years, this is the first that's really exciting.

Elon Musk has nothing to do with this. This is NASA, not SpaceX. And Elon Musk isn't the one authorizing the funding. You know who is.

That said, Elon Musk is a BALLER!

SpaceX is building the Moon lander.

And SLS, at $4 billion per launch, is unsustainable. Hope it is cancelled very soon and the entire mission can then be flown by Starship for much, MUCH less cost.

As for Mars (which was also part of my statement) SpaceX is the only one with anything close to a reasonable chance of sending humans there within the next 10-20 years.

It's pretty cool that this gets folks excited.I wish I were one.

Instead, I am convinced it will all be a massive boondoggle, with NASA unable to get out of their own way as the cost overruns four-fold and delays add years to the target. They'll probably still end up on the moon, but with a return far short of the investment.

I have no faith at all in NASA.

+1

NASA spends 72 cents of every SLS dollar on overhead costs

NASA does not deny the “over $2 billion” cost of a single SLS launch

Why we going back to the moon - did someone find massive quantities of Lithium for making electric car batteries and we don't want the Chinese to get it first ?

are you insane ? did you not see the documentary ? there are evil nanobots on the moon

I'm pretty excited too. The biggest baddest rocket ever. That is an epic sight and I hope it will be a 100% successful flight. The entire future of NASA might well depend on it. If they fail chances are, the agency and thereby the control of travel to the Moon will fall to private corporations such as SpaceX, and foreign powers such as China, India and perhaps Japan. The loss of US prestige would be devastating.

I can't escape the feeling that one of the biggest motivating factors for it happening now is that China is flexing its muscles and expanding its ambitions towards space. In effect I think we are seeing a repeat of the race to the Moon from the sixties only with China taking the role of the Defunct Soviet Union. Can't risk letting the Chinese establish an undisputed presence on the Moon.

There are strong indications that water is present on the Moon and with some technical wizardry, this water can be converted to fuel thus enabling travel to Mars and beyond. My personal opinion is that especially in these dreary times, humanity desperately needs a positive and shared vision of the future, a catalyst for innovation, engineering and science. I hope a renewed focus on space will become such a project.

Artemis is however also a job creating scheme. Based on the remnants of the Cancelled Constellation project and utilizing principles dating back to the Apollo Era as well as equipment from the Shuttle programme, - the engines used are actually old, flown Shuttle engines, the SRB boosters enlarged Shuttle boosters (I hope they fixed the o-rings) - it is my opinion that the programme is technologically obsolete. Especially viewed in comparison to SpaceX, Artemis seems like old technology and I fear it might turn out to be more a quick fix to achieve the objective in the shortest time possible, not so much a hack but more a botch.

The launch complex apparently will only be used for 3 missions. From Artemis 4 and onwards, a new one will be needed, and that one is far from completed. It is rather in its infant stages of construction.

And Artemis is already over budget and over time.

Nevertheless, I'll be watching with bated breath and the proper amount of go-fever. Godspeed Artemis!

That is a feature, not a bug.

Agreed. I work (indirectly) for a government agency and I see the daily incompetence first hand.

Ready and waiting for launch here!

Scrubbed.
Next window friday Sep. 2.
Better safe than sorry.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/29/nas...unch-due-to-issues-during-countdown.html


"NASA was unable to resolve a temperature problem identified with one of the four liquid-fueled engines."

The official line from NASA is that the launch has been put on hold due to “technical issues.”

Is anyone surprised?

This is the perfect start if you are fashioning a boondoggle. Well done, NASA, you've met my expectations, now, exceed them..

wow panzermeyer. i never expected you of all people to be so self aware and self deprecating. you grew in my concept buddy, you are so brave, this is but the first step, march on.

NASA BOONDOGGLE Shows How US Lost Its Way After Apollo Program