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NASA Looking at Plans for a New Lunar Landing

Ken Schwartz

   Tuesday was the deadline for the commercial space industry to give NASA
   its proposals for an all-new 21st century lunar landing system as the
   United States strives to return to the moon within five years.

   No one has been on the moon since December 14, 1972 when Apollo 17 took
   off from the lunar surface. It was the end of an era that began in
   July,1969 when the entire world held its breath to watch Neil Armstrong
   make that "giant leap for mankind."

   NASA has celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing by
   not just looking back, but looking forward to Mars.

   But the first stop on the way to Mars is a return trip to the moon.

   Exploring the moon and living on it for extended periods in the late
   2020s is a what NASA calls "practice ground" for learning to live on
   Mars in the 2030s.

   "At the moon, we will learn how to live and operate on the surface of
   another celestial body where astronauts are just three days from home
   and prove the technologies we need before sending astronauts to Mars,
   which can take up to three years roundtrip," NASA spokeswoman Cheryl
   Warner tells VOA.

   NASA called its 1960s moon mission Apollo. The 21st century moon
   program is dubbed [1]Artemis -- the Greek god's twin sister.

References

   1. https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis/

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