The private space company Space X will build the next US rocket to land on the moon. The preliminary goal is for two astronauts to land on the moon in the new spacecraft within three years. The last time a person visited the moon was in 1972.
It will be the multibillionaire Elon Musk’s company Space X that gets to build the USA’s next lunar lander. The company won the US space agency NASA’s procurement. The deal is worth $ 2.9 billion, the company writes in one press release.
In December, Nasa selected 18 astronaut candidates. Of them, four will be allowed to go to space, two of which will be allowed to spend a week on the moon. According to Nasa, one should be a woman. The goal is for the moon landing to take place by 2024.
– Nasa and our partners will carry out the first manned lunar landing in this century. At the same time, Nasa is taking a step in the right direction regarding gender equality, says Kathy Lueders, director at Nasa.
The goal is a visit to Mars
The journey to the moon is part of NASA’s project that goes by the name Artemis. The project’s goal is to establish itself on the moon in the longer term and finally also send astronauts to March. European ESA is also part of the project. In addition to the first woman, the first non-white person will also be allowed to land on the moon in the near future.
Before the two selected ones are launched to the moon, Nasa has demanded a genre rope where an unmanned spacecraft must be launched and land on the moon. This is done to check that everything is working properly.
Space X, founded by Elon Musk, has also previously collaborated with Nasa and succeeded well. Last year, Space X became the first private company to transport crew members to the International Space Station ISS.
Another billionaire, Jeff Bezos, who founded Amazon, also participated in NASA’s procurement, but lost to Elon Musk’s company. But Nasa makes sure that more interested players are needed in the future because the traffic to the moon will now start properly.
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