“This time you are going to need astronauts that are going to actually get out and start to live on the moon”, NASA administrator Bill Nelson said. “We’re going to build habitants up there. So you’re going to need a new kind of astronaut”.
Nelson believes the new team of astronauts which will soon go to the moon should develop the science and technology that will help mankind to explore space in the future.
NASA’s new mission, including landing on the moon, will last longer than previous ones. It is necessary for humans to learn to survive in space, the NASA administrator noted.
Bill Nelson thinks the astronauts in charge of the Artemis mission need to focus on developing new technologies. The NASA administrator added that the crew should stay on the moon for a long time instead of landing and leaving it in some days.
According to Nelson, a high-quality life on the moon is unlikely in the short term. It concerns a distant future. However, NASA tries to fulfill the optimal conditions now. Bill Nelson is certain that developing new technologies and relevant skills will help mankind to survive on other planets.
The training of a new crew for landing on the moon started during the years of former American presidents. NASA’s new Space Launch System rocket was built for the Artemis mission. It can deliver the Orion spacecraft to the moon and accommodate people and cargo by sending them to the Earth's satellite.
Under the administration of former US President Donald Trump, the landing of astronauts was scheduled for 2024. However, Nelson announced in the fall of 2021 that this project was being pushed back to 2025 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and lawsuits from Blue Origin owned by Jeff Bezos. The lawsuits impeded NASA's cooperation with Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Previously, the space agency had planned to sign a contract with it to build a spacecraft.
