NASA’s 2024 lunar mission is in serious trouble – BGR

• NASA needs a lot of money if it hopes to accomplish a manned mission to the Moon by 2024, but lawmakers are not giving up.
• A proposed budget for NASA requested nearly $ 5 billion, but was approved for just over $ 1.5 billion, making the return of the Moon impossible.
• NASA hopes the Senate is more willing to increase its budget, but that remains to be seen.

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The Trump administration played it big when it ordered NASA to find a way to return humans to the Moon by 2024. Many scientists and analysts criticized the decision as short-sighted, as it was an incredibly short timeline that would not require just one Great effort on the part of NASA and its business partners, but also an incredible investment by the US government.

Securing a large enough budget has proved difficult for NASA, and even though the order to return to the Moon comes directly from above, lawmakers who decide how much money NASA should receive for their efforts clearly have not seen the value in a return to the moon. It was not The hill A new bill detailing NASA funding is reportedly well below the cash the space agency will need to deliver on Moon 2024’s promise.

Initially, the administration had requested a whopping $ 4.7 billion for NASA’s efforts to explore space. That amount would have helped the progress of Artemis missions that would include manned missions to the lunar surface. Lawmakers in the House decided it was a little too high, and cut things down to just $ 1.56 billion, which is well below the amount it takes to get to the Moon in 2024.

NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine offered a statement on the decision, and while its wording initially appears complementary, you don’t have to read too much to realize what it’s really saying.

“I want to thank the Chamber’s Commerce, Justice and Science subcommittee for bipartisan support for NASA’s Artemis program,” Bridenstine said. “The $ 628.2 million in funds for the Human Landing System (HLS) is an important first step in this year’s appropriation process. We still have more to do and I look forward to working with the Senate to ensure that the United States has the resources that the first woman and the next man on the moon will need in 2024. “

Simply put, Bridenstine hopes that lawmakers in the Senate will further support Artemis’s mission plans and, as a result, pay much more cash in the direction of NASA. Budgets are complicated and go through many revisions, and it is possible (or even likely) that the Senate will present additional funds for NASA’s moon exploration efforts despite the meager allocation offered by the House.

It’s also worth noting that the timeline of NASA’s Moon 2024 efforts is already a crisis, and any delay could lead to a dramatic delay in the date of missions that would actually send humans back to the Moon. . With cash shortages, an incredibly short deadline, and a global health crisis working against the space agency, it seems increasingly likely that NASA will need a near miracle to make it happen.