May 18, 2019
-
A woman will walk on the moon for the first time by 2024, NASA chief says
The first female astronaut to step foot on the moon could do so in as little as five years from now. NASA has revealed its upcoming moon mission, which is currently tied to an ambitious 2024 deadline, will be led by both male and female astronauts for the first time.
Speaking at the Human to Mars Summit in Washington DC on 14 May, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine explained that the current crop of astronauts is 'very diverse,' unlike in past decades, and will show the public that 'opportunities like this are available to everybody in America.' Seeing the first woman land on the moon in the foreseeable future will inspire a new generation of young girls, the NASA chief said.
The agency has chosen to call the mission Artemis in a nod to this decision and to past missions alike; Artemis is the mythical Greek lunar goddess and twin sister of Apollo.
Jim Bridenstine said the history of moon landings shows little opportunities were offered to women. But, things have finally begun to change.
Bridenstine said during the summit: 'I have an 11-year-old daughter and I want her to be able to see herself in the same way that our current very diverse astronaut corps sees itself. And if we look at the history of moon landings, it was test pilots from the 1960s and 1970s, fighter pilots, and there were no opportunities for women back then. This program is going to enable a new generation of young girls like my daughter to see themselves in a way that maybe they wouldn't otherwise see themselves.'
Mr Bridenstine has previously said President Trump's desire to put humans back on the moon by the year 2024 would provide an opportunity to test technology and capabilities before carrying out a mission to land on Mars by 2033.
He told the summit: 'What we are trying to do is create as much of the architecture as possible so that it can be replicated for our eventual human mission to Mars. So again, we are accelerating the path to get to the moon. We want to be there, no kidding, by 2024. That accelerates our eventual Mars missions as well. But the first step is getting to the moon. We have to learn how to live and work on another world for long periods of time.'
He added: 'The president has granted us 1.6 billion additional dollars, that didn't come from the science mission directorate, it didn't come from the International Space Station – 1.6 billion additional dollars for our acceleration of the lunar program so that we can get the next man and the first woman to the surface of the moon. That's important. When we accelerate the lunar program, we are, by definition, accelerating the humans to Mars program. That's what we're doing.'
The last manned Moon landing happened in 1972, as part of the Apollo 17 mission. There have only been six times that astronauts have walked on the Moon, all of which were carried out by NASA as part of its Apollo program. The aptly-named Artemis mission will build off these past efforts and push lunar exploration to new heights.
Bridenstine tweeted ahead of the summit: 'Our #Moon2024 mission is being named after Artemis, who was a sister to Apollo and goddess of the Moon. We're excited to be landing the first woman and next man on the surface of the Moon by 2024.'
On Monday, Mr Trump tweeted: 'Under my Administration, we are restoring @NASA to greatness and we are going back to the Moon, then Mars.'
In closing remarks at the DC event, Bridenstine added: 'We've had the conversation about my 11-year-old daughter. I'm sure there's people in this room that have their own daughters and want them to see themselves in this role in the future. Not that everybody's going to be an astronaut, but people need to understand that opportunities like this are available to everybody in America.'
Extracted from: www.dailymail.co.uk
