Page 32 - May19
P. 32

Cyber
     Australia sharing opportunities with



     NASA renewed push for the moon





                                          NASA has cleared up its plans to get   gateway for the moon landings. That
                                          to the moon in 2024, four years sooner   facility may now possess just a few of
                                          that it originally planned.          the elements originally proposed for it.
                                             That  will  first  involve  speed  in   NASA has also accelerated
                                          getting American boots onto the moon,   development of the lunar lander.
                                          with  sustainability  later.  In  a  speech   Once  man  has  returned  to  the
                                          to  the  35th  Space  Symposium  in   moon, NASA will focus on long-term
                                           Colorado, US, NASA administrator    sustainability. That includes enhancing
                                           Jim Bridenstine said all the elements   gateway  capability  and  ensuring  key
                                           of getting man back to the moon in   equipment like the lunar lander could
                                            2028 still existed but the order would   be reused.
                                            change.                               “We’re building a capability, we’re
                                                “The  first  phase  is  speed.  We   building an architecture that’s ultimately
                                              want to get those boots on the moon   sustainable for the long run. All this was
                                              as soon as possible. Anything that   already planned for 2028. We’re just
                                               is a distraction from making that   going  to  accelerate  pieces  of  it,”  Mr
                                                happen we’re getting rid of,” he   Bridenstine said.
                                                 said.                            He  said  NASA  would  be  seeking
                                                    Man hasn’t set foot on the   more  money,  sending  an  amended
                                                  moon since the last of the US   budget proposal to Congress.
                                                   Apollo missions in December    “We’re  going  to  be  going  back  to
                                                   1972. No other nation has   Congress  with  an  increased  budget
                                                    landed men on the moon.    request.  If  we  could  maybe  ask  our
                                                       NASA now plans to       international partners to step up a little
                                                    return.  China  also  said   more, that would be great as well,” Mr
                                                    it plans to land men on    Bridenstine said.
                                                    the  moon  around  2030.      Could that include Australia?
                                                    NASA’ s  plans  have          “Great to meet with @NASA to
                                                    been  substantially        discuss  collaboration  opportunities
                                                    accelerated by the current   with the @AusSpaceAgency. Looking
                                                    US administration, with    forward to building on over 50 years of
                                                  vice-president  Mike  Pence   collaboration on space activities between
                                               declaring  last  month  it  was  the   #Australia  and  the  #UnitedStates,”
                                           stated policy of this administration and   tweeted Australian  Space Agency
                                          the US to return astronauts to the moon   deputy head Anthony Murfett.
                                          within the next five years.             “I met with over 20 of our international
                                             However, to achieve that, much work   partners  at  #SpaceSymposium. The
                                          is needed. There’s no moon lander yet,   common  thread  is  that  everyone  is
                                          though there is a spacecraft, the Orion.   excited  about  moving  forward  to  the
                                          That  will  undergo  an  unmanned  test   moon  together,  and  we’re  mobilizing
                                          flight  next  year  and  the  first  crewed   support worldwide to make it happen,”
                                          mission soon after.                  Mr Bridenstine tweeted.
                                             The US also plans to position a   Courtesy Space Connet
                                          station  in  orbit  over  the  moon  as  a











       32
   27   28   29   30   31   32   33   34   35   36   37