NASA will not be able to go to the moon in 2024: Trump’s goal was unrealistic

The US space agency will not go to the Moon in 2024 with astronauts. His boss, Bill Nelson, considers that too many factors weighed in the balance, including the unrealistic ambitions of Donald Trump.

Americans will ultimately have to wait at least another year before they see astronauts return to the moon. On November 9, 2021, NASA boss Bill Nelson informed the press that a manned mission on the satellite from 2024 “ is not technically feasible “. Now, the US space agency is following a new schedule, which provides for a return to the Moon in 2025.

Two reasons have been put forward by the NASA administrator, who took office this spring. The first is the legal dispute between SpaceX and Blue Origin about the manufacture of a lunar lander – the first had been selected, but not the second. The case ended at the beginning of November with the rejection, by an American court, of Blue Origin’s complaint, who admitted defeat.

However, this affair was not without consequences for the development of this program: NASA was forced this spring to freeze this project pending the outcome of this dispute, which effectively prevented him from working on it with SpaceX. Between the break in April and the court verdict, almost seven months have passed. Seven precious months, which cannot be made up.

” We’ve lost nearly seven months in litigation, and that likely pushed the first human landing back to 2025 at the earliest. “, Declared Bill Nelson, in remarks which were reported by the New York Times. Exchanges with SpaceX are announced to establish a more precise roadmap. The 2025 deadline remains fragile, considering other potential delays that the overall program might know.

Donald Trump wanted Americans on the moon as early as 2024

The second is political: Bill Nelson, who was appointed under the presidency of Joe Biden, considers that the 2024 deadline desired by Donald Trump, who occupied the White House from 2017 to 2020, was illusory. Quoted by CNBC, he told reporters that the Trump administration’s goal of a human mission to the moon in 2024 was technically unrealistic.

Observers suggest that Donald Trump would have liked NASA to manage to send Americans to the Moon in 2024, with the prospect of being able to derive some glory from it in the event of re-election of a second four-year term (2021-2024). It was in the spring of 2019 that the Trump administration, notably through the voice of Vice President Mike Pence, formalized the 2024 deadline.

” The United States has a stated policy of bringing astronauts back to the moon within the next five years “, He declared in March 2019.” We have the technology to return to the moon “And remake from the USA” world leaders in human space exploration », In a thinly veiled message to China, which is whipping to catch up with and overtake America in this area.

However, this shift from 2024 to 2025 announced by Bill Nelson, which aims to take into account the conflict between SpaceX and Blue Origin and correct the trajectory established by Donald Trump, does not make NASA’s timetable fundamentally simpler. Before the US space agency was forced to follow a very tight schedule, it followed a much longer schedule.

In addition, exogenous problems also weighed in the balance, even if they were not mentioned by Bill Nelson: the coronavirus pandemic obviously affected all of NASA’s activities – just like the rest of the planet. It was also necessary to face natural disasters, such as Hurricane Ida, who damaged installations which are used in the development of the Orion spacecraft.

Thus, the deadline that was in the sights, before the Trump presidency, was 2028 for a return of American astronauts to the Moon. In fact, the path taken under Bill Nelson remains ambitious despite this postponement and could experience other setbacks. This is sort of the warning that Bill Nelson gave: “ the agency will need to make serious changes for the long-term success of the program “.

The continuation in video