The United States has announced that alongside American astronauts, it plans to land an international astronaut on the surface of the Moon by the end of the decade.
This announcement was made by Vice President Kamala Harris at a meeting of the National Space Council in Washington.
The United States had committed to flying international astronauts around the moon as part of NASA’s Artemis program, the most ambitious space exploration effort in generations.
Harris also announced that NASA will establish the first lunar base camp and the first station in lunar orbit in collaboration with its allies and partners.
The service module that will help carry Artemis astronauts to the Moon was built by the European Space Agency. And Europe, Japan, and Canada will make significant contributions to the lunar space station.
The U.S. space agency’s Artemis 2 and 3 missions aim to send American astronauts back to the lunar surface for the first time in more than half a century.
Through upcoming Artemis missions, NASA plans to land the first woman and the first person of color on the surface of the Moon.
As a precursor, a giant rocket carrying Orion spacecraft travelled beyond the Moon and returned to Earth a year ago.
The Artemis I test flight with no crew on board was aimed at laying the foundation for a sustained long-term human presence on and around the Moon.
Harris said that President Biden and she are committed to establishing rules for commercial space activities that are strong enough to promote the safe and predictable use of space but flexible enough to ensure that innovation is not stifled. “We intend that these domestic rules will serve as a model for global action.”
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