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NASA ruled on Thursday awarding three contracts to Blue Origin, owned by the world’s richest man, Jeff Bezos, to SpaceX, company of billionaire Elon Musk, and to Dynetics. to build the first manned spacecraft to reach the Moon since 1972.
NASA announced this on its website the three companies that will compete to develop the spacecraft for the next lunar mission; Blue Origin being the most advanced in the project, for which it will receive 579 million dollars, followed by Dynetics, whose contract is 253 million, and SpaceX, which will earn 135 million.
Boeing Aeronautics, one of the agency’s regular contractors, also entered the competition, although this time it was not selected. “With the award of these contracts, the United States is moving forward with the necessary step to bring astronauts to the Moon in 2024, including the incredible moment when we will see the first woman to set foot on the lunar surface,” said Jim Bridenstine , NASA administrator.
(Also read: The majestic photos of Earth shared by NASA)
The initiative represents a breakthrough in the Artemisa program, With which the agency hopes to send the first woman to the Moon in 2024 and establish a sustainable human presence on the lunar surface.
NASA is thus advancing its new plan to reach the Earth satellite again by using two spacecraft on the same route, since as established, the Orion aircraft – under test – would fly to lunar orbit, where the astronauts would be transferred to the apparatus built by one of the companies winning the tender today, where they would descend to the Moon.
(Also read: NASA presents stunning images of Jupiter)
This represents a change in the initial idea of the aerospace organization, which initially had planned an intermediate stop at a space station in the lunar orbit, called Gateway. A plan that, according to the agency, is still in progress for the long term. Despite all this, in order for NASA to reach the Moon before 2024, Congress must give its approval to the budget that The White House has presented to finance the program, which amounts to 35,000 million dollars.
EFE
