Ready for the Moon This Year, NASA Will Build Infrastructure to Settle

Illustration of the plan to build infrastructure on the Moon (photo: doc. NASA)

NASA will launch four astronauts to the Moon in the near future. The mission, called Artemis II, is scheduled to fly to lunar orbit on February 6 using the Orion spacecraft.

This is a much-anticipated launch by NASA, especially the United States. The country last launched a human to the Moon in 1972. This time, the four astronauts who will be involved in this historic mission are Victor Glover, Christina Koch, Reid Wiseman, and Jeremy Hansen.

Although it was touted as the opening mission to the Moon, the four astronauts will not land. They are only trained for the Moon. During the flight, the entire crew will test the aircraft support system to ensure the technology is ready for use by the Artemis III crew.

Artemis III will be the first launch mission to actually land humans on the Moon. This historic mission is targeted to land in 2027. However, this mission is not just an ordinary landing mission because NASA will also focus on building the Moon's infrastructure.

"In the next three years, we will land American astronauts again on the moon, but this time with the infrastructure to settle," NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in an interview, launching from the National Desk on Wednesday, January 14.

This step is in line with the executive order of US President Donald Trump entitled Ensuring American Space Superiority which he signed last December. Through the order, Trump said that the US needs to focus on the economic and security foundations in the space sector to maintain national interests.

"Space superiority is a measure of national vision and will," Trump said in the order he issued. "The United States must pursue a space policy that will expand the reach of human discovery, secure the vital economic and security interests of the country, encourage commercial development, and lay the foundation for a new space age."