“NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine says the U.S. is within 10 years of having a continuous manned presence on the moon, which will lay the groundwork for expanding space exploration to Mars.
“Right now we’re building a space station, we call it ‘Gateway,’ that’s going to be in orbit around the moon — think of it as a reusable command module where we can have human presence in orbit around the moon. From there we want reusable landers that go back and forth to the surface of the moon,” Bridenstine told Hill.TV’s Jamal Simmons and Buck Sexton on “Rising.”
“We think we can achieve this in about 10 years, the idea being prove the capability, retire the risk, prove the human physiology and then go on to Mars,” he continued.”
This is a Trump initiative:
“The move is part of President Trump’s Space Policy Directive, which calls for revisiting Moon exploration.
Bridenstine emphasized the importance of Trump’s directive, saying building a sustainable and continued presence on the Moon represents a “proving ground” for further space exploration.
Unlike Mars, he said the Earth and Moon are always on the same side of the sun. Mars on the other hand is on the same side as Earth only once every 26 months, meaning that astronauts will have to be on Mars for two years before being able to complete their mission and return home.
“The moon represents a proving ground, it’s the way we can reduce risk, we can prove technology, we can prove human physiology, we can develop the capabilities to utilize the resources of the moon to survive on the surface of the moon and then we take all of those capabilities and we replicate them at Mars,” he said.”
I cannot for the life of me understand the people who don’t value a robust and active space exploration program.
Space exploration serves the cause of humanity, of taking our species to new heights and ultimately to new worlds.
The history of mankind has been a story of venturing forth into the unknown, and space is the greatest unknown of all.
Our space program is essential and must not only continue but be expanded. We must push to the moon, to Mars and beyond. It’s what human beings do.