Trump Administration Pushes NASA To Speed Up The First Moon Mission; Reportedly Wanted To Be Bold and Accomplish Pres. Kennedy's Vow
With the new administration, Trump wanted to speed up the long-planned moon mission as he wanted his administration to do something different with the space program. Generally, NASA is always taking everything surely and taking precautions before sending astronauts to space and explore.
With the urge of Trump administration to speed up the mission, NASA launches a study answering the possibility of adding two astronauts to the first test flight of Exploration Mission 1 or the EM-1. NASA released the pros and cons involcing two crews on the first test flight.
The EM-1 is scheduled for November 2018 and the new rocket system will launch with a new Orion capsule on top and will orbit the moon. After exploring and orbiting the moon, the capsule will return to Earth, entering the atmosphere at very high speed down in an ocean, Geek Wire has reported.
NASA thinking about to have mannequins on board and only after the test mission will put live astronauts into Orion capsule and ascend to the moon. The second mission or EM-2 will be taking place on 2021.
In a recent teleconference with reports, "I do not have a preconceived position as to whether I am for this or against this," said NASA official, William Gerstenmaier regarding the results of the study. But according to the results of the study conducted whether the plan is possible, the result suggested an increase of the mission risk.
According to Gerstenmaier, if the current plan will change and will be added two astronauts to the first test flight will only increase risk. Adding that if astronauts are involved, they would tentatively last about eight or nine days. But the benefit of having two humans aboard, he claimed that they will get a chance to test the systems in a rigorous way, The Washington Post has reported.
The study will be completed in a month. And if NASA's result indicating that it isn't possible that a crew will be onboard, NASA will be sticking to its first plan. But if the study is possible, then the launch date for EM-1 will be pushed into 2019.
Trump reportedly shows an interest with President Kennedy's vow to put a man on the moon by the end of 1960's. The reports suggest that Trump may also wanted the space ambition as he wanted to do some bold moves and different in the space program.
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