More On:
nasa
NASA shares Mars rover’s first weather report
NASA Mars helicopter survives cold Martian night in first step of historic endeavor
NASA researchers discover first X-rays from Uranus
NASA drone lands on Mars for historic first flight on another world
It’s one giant step for diversity.
NASA plans to land the first person of color on the moon as part of an international spaceflight program, a rep for the agency said Friday.
“NEW:@NASA will land the first woman and the *first person of color* on the Moon under the Artemis program,” NASA press secretary Jackie McGuinness tweeted.
The news comes after an announcement in September that the agency will send the first-ever female astronaut to the moon as part of the same program in 2024.
McGuinness told The Post on Friday that NASA hadn’t yet determined who the person of color or the female astronaut would be — or whether it will be the same individual.
“There haven’t been specific crew selections yet,” she said. “Any specific crew assignments will be made closer to launch.”
She added that the mission may now be delayed to 2025 or later.
“The Biden Administration supports the goals of the Artemis program. However, given the funding levels for the human landing system over the past two years, a 2024 lunar landing goal does not appear realistic.”
In 2019, NASA announced the Artemis program, which will land the first American on the moon since the Apollo lunar mission in 1972.
The program includes research into commercial partnerships and other economic opportunities linked to space travel.
NASA’s goal is to pour that research and revenue into missions to explore Mars, which is more than 139 million miles farther from Earth than the moon.
Share this article:
Source: Read Full Article