James Bridenstine assured that NASA needs to work with international partners to achieve this ambitious goal.
During the 35th Space Symposium, which is being held April 8-11 in Colorado Springs, NASA Director Jim Bridenstine stated that the Space Agency will not be able to single-handedly transport astronauts to the Moon in 2024, and reminded of the need to cooperate. … This is reported by Space.com.
In February, the NASA chief and other senior Space Agency officials discussed a plan to return to the moon at a media roundtable in Washington, DC. During the event, Bridenstein announced his intentions not only to return, but also to “stay” on the Moon, noting that the agency focuses on the speed of the successful implementation of the mission. However, later, US Vice President Mike Pence announced that the Donald Trump administration had instructed to speed up the mission and postpone the landing from 2028 to 2024, as the United States wants to maintain its position as a space superpower. In this case, the first astronauts on the moon should be exactly the Americans.
Now, during the symposium, James Bridenstine noted that NASA cannot do this alone:
“Landing astronauts on the moon in 2024 is not just America's task. We need all our international partners. None of us can do what we want to do alone. The plans for landing in 2024 are the same plans used for 2028. We just need to move some investments forward - and then everything is achievable."
© NASA
According to the head of NASA, the biggest problem remains funding. To achieve the goal, a large budget is needed, and to approve it, bipartisan support is needed, which the agency's leadership is currently working on. First of all, they are revising the budget allocated for 2020, as it was approved before the announcement of the acceleration of the program. Recall that he became "one of the most outstanding in the history of the agency" and amounted to $ 21 billion.
Over the past few years, the agency has mapped out a multi-tiered strategy for getting people to the lunar surface. The plan calls for the construction of a new space station orbiting Earth's satellite called the Gateway. NASA is assisted by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
In conclusion, James Bridenstein said that this is a great opportunity to achieve things that no one else has ever done.
Recently, the website of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has information about the lunar conquest program. Scientists want to automate this process, almost eliminating human participation. Machines will be responsible for most of the work.