NASA recently revealed details on its advanced
space exploration plans at the
Paris Air Show.
On Tuesday, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine announced the agency plans to put astronauts on the
Moon by 2024 with its Artemis space exploration program.
The program will include the first woman to ever step foot on the Moon, and will be the first time humans have landed on the Moon since 1972. Artemis also aims to use the Moon as a sort of training ground for ultimate exploration of Mars.
“We need to be able to utilize the resources of the Moon to live and work for long periods of time, and maybe even take those resources and create a fueling depot in orbit around the moon ultimately, so that we can go to Mars,” explained Bridenstine.
The announcement of these plans follows President Trump’s recent addition of $1.6 billion to NASA’s 2020 budget in order to accelerate a return to the Moon.