Humans could live and work on the Moon According to the head of NASA’s Orion lunar spacecraft programme in this decade.”

Recent scans of the lunar south pole indicate that enormous stores of water ice may be concealed in the deep, black craters there – and if this is confirmed, NASA will be able to create a factory producing rocket fuel to transport humans to Mars and deeper into deep space.

According to NASA’s Howard Hu, who manages the Orion programme, the next big goal is to create a permanent Moon outpost.

Along with the Moonbase, there will be a space station named Lunar Gateway orbiting the moon, which is anticipated would one day serve as a refuelling stop for manned expeditions to Mars, Jupiter, and beyond.

“We’re going to be sending people down to the surface and they’re going to be living on that surface and doing science,” Mr Hu explained.

“It’s really going to be very important for us to learn a little bit beyond our Earth’s orbit and then do a big step when we go to Mars.”

“And the Artemis missions enable us to have a sustainable platform and transportation system that allows us to learn how to operate in that deep space environment.”

He described Wednesday’s unmanned test flight of the Orion spacecraft as a success “historic day for human space flight.”

He stated: “I think this is an historic day for NASA, but it’s also an historic day for all the people who love human space flight and deep space exploration.”

“I mean, we are going back to the Moon, we’re working towards a sustainable programme and this is the vehicle that will carry the people that will land us back on the Moon again.”

According to NASA, “NASA is going to the Moon with commercial and international partners to explore faster and explore more together. This work will bring new knowledge and opportunities and inspire the next generation.”

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