If the mission does get the "go ahead" and is approved, it will be one for the history books
No longer with the moon reside on the other end of a lens for one female astronaut.
The space agency NASA has officially published its $28 billion plan to send humans to space and land on the lunar surface of the Moon within four years.
Perhaps the most exciting part about the planned mission is that it will include the first woman ever to walk on the Moon. Aside from that, the mission is the first to return to the lunar surface in nearly 50 years.
So, NASA is shooting for 2024.
The crew — which is just one woman and one man — will be launched into space aboard an Orion spacecraft on top of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The two of them will head to the Moon for the first landing since 1972 — pretty neat, right?
The mission all relies on Congress, though, and its release of the billions of dollars in funding.
The money would go toward the development of a landing system capable of touching down on the lunar surface and then taking off again.
"With bipartisan support from Congress, our 21st century push to the Moon is well within America's reach," said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. "As we've solidified more of our exploration plans in recent months, we've continued to refine our budget and architecture. We're going back to the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and inspiration for a new generation of explorers."
If the mission does get the "go ahead" and is approved, it will be one for the history books.
The new mission is also part of America's efforts to solidify its stance in space exploration, as well as to lay out the floorplan for future missions to Mars.
"As we build up a sustainable presence, we're also building momentum toward those first human steps on the Red Planet," said Bridenstine.
By Matthew Sterner.
