NASA plans to build a settlement for astronauts on the Moon by 2035, acting head of the agency Sean Duffy said at the International Astronautical Congress in Sydney.
“We are going to create sustainable living conditions for people on the Moon,” Duffy said. “Not just an outpost, but an entire settlement.”
According to him, nuclear energy will be used to power the settlement. The reactor, weighing less than 15 tons, will be capable of producing 100 kW of electricity. This is enough to provide the lunar base with electricity for 14 lunar nights, when solar panels will be ineffective.
Duffy said that the US “will return to the moon, and this time, when we plant our flag, we will stay there.” The settlement will be able to permanently host astronauts and will be built from materials found on the surface of the Moon.
As early as February next year, NASA will launch the Artemis II mission with four astronauts on board in the first manned expedition to the Moon in more than 50 years. The astronauts will not land on the surface of Earth’s natural satellite. During the Artemis II mission, the astronauts will test the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft, which will eventually take humans to the moon. The crew will fly around the moon for 10 days before returning to Earth.
But a serious test for NASA awaits in mid-2027 with the launch of the Artemis III mission, which plans to land two astronauts near the south pole of the Moon. In September, Duffy said that as part of the Artemis III mission to explore the Moon, which NASA plans to carry out in mid-2027, astronauts will stay on the planet for eight to twelve days. The data they collect on the geology and conditions around the South Pole will be used to prepare for the ultimate goal of building a permanent base on the Moon.
For the first time in space exploration history, the European Space Agency (ESA) will allow a disabled man to become an astronaut and orbit the Earth.
British citizen John McFall, who has an amputated leg, has been included in the next set of ESA astronauts at the age of 41. He is the bronze medalist in the 100-meter sprint at the 2008 Paralympic Games in China and now intends to prove that disability is no barrier to achieving many goals.
Until now, people with disabilities have not been allowed to qualify for astronauts, which are understandably some of the toughest competitions.
“Initially, applying for this program was not in my plans because of the required medical screenings,” John said after he was included in the astronaut candidate team.
But in February 2021, in organizing the new enrollment, the agency announced that one or more applicants with a leg disability (due to amputation or congenital malformation) could be trained for spaceflight, provided that the selection requirements are met. However, the intellectual and psychological qualities had to be the same as those of other astronaut candidates. This changed the perspective of the Briton, a physician by training.
“This is the first time a candidate with a disability has been selected. It’s a signal to all of humanity that we can do this,” said John McFall, who lost his leg at age 19 in a motorcycle accident.
ESA said McFall will have to work over the coming months to “improve our understanding of his abilities and overcome the obstacles that spaceflight creates for physically disabled astronauts.”
In space missions requiring extreme precision in everything, even the smallest modifications can be extremely difficult or costly, the agency explains. For example, existing systems now are designed for as-tronauts of certain physical parameters.
“Paraastronaut” is the name the agency has given to its unprecedented project.
