N“By the end of 2024, astronauts will be hard pressed to land on the moon,” he said. The assessment by the agency’s inspector general’s office comes in a November 12 report and a 2020 report on NASA’s Top Management and Performance Challenges.
Originally, NASA was working towards 2028 to return astronauts to the moon, but in March 2019 the White House directed it to speed up plans. In response, NASA developed the Artemis program, which aims to land the first woman and second man on the moon by 2024.
The report highlights costs and schedules on crucial pieces of technology such as the giant space launch system rocket and the Orion Crew capsule. It also points out that NASA is about to receive less than half the money it requested to start developing lunar landers.
However, the report justifies its pessimism, stating: “Achieving any date close to this ambitious goal – and reaching Mars in the 2030s – will require strong, consistent, sustainable leadership from the President, Congress and NASA, as well as stable and timely Funding. “
President-elect Joe Biden’s Democratic Party has said it will “support NASA’s work to get Americans back to the moon and go to Mars,” but is not committed until 2024.
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