+ View “He wants us to talk about going to Mars, which of course is the objective. Astrobotic of Pittsburgh started as one of the teams aiming to win the Lunar X Prize, but dropped out when it realized it could not make the deadline. NASA moved toward more modest programs and began to diversify its astronaut groups at the end of the 1970s. We gotta go back for that shit. For instance, the far side of the moon could be ideal for optical and radio telescopes because they would not face earthly interference there. Many space enthusiasts have long hoped to build a base on the moon, but the lunar surface's harsh environment wouldn't be an ideal place for humans to thrive. A bevy of companies has lined up in hopes of winning NASA contracts to deliver experiments and instruments to the moon. But NASA in February was suddenly pushed to pick up its pace when Vice President Mike Pence announced the goal of putting Americans on the moon again by 2024, four years ahead of the previous schedule. Astronaut 1: We've just lost line of sight with the Earth, perfectly on schedule. So when President John F. Kennedy announced on May 25, 1961, America's intention to go to the moon, it was more about showing up terrestrial enemies than exploring an extraterrestrial world. “It would be good if … The fascination with Earth’s celestial companion is not limited to nation-states. After Apollo 17, the last visit by NASA astronauts in 1972, the Soviets sent a few more robotic spacecraft to the moon, but they soon also lost interest in further exploration there. NASA's new race to put a woman on the moon. A cool site devoted to the 30th anniversary of Apollo 11 in 1999 Facing budget cuts by the end of that pivotal year, 1970, NASA canceled the last three planned Apollo flights, leaving Apollo 15, 16, and 17 as the final moon landings concluding two years early, in 1972. NASA moved toward more modest programs and began to diversify its astronaut groups at the end of the 1970s. There have been several astronauts who have greatly contributed to space exploration. John Thornton, Astrobotic’s chief executive, acknowledged that lunar entrepreneurs had been overly optimistic in the past and that the size of the potential market remained uncertain. He asserted that America chose to strive for the goals of travelling through space, and for a manned moon landing, “Not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” Any number of … The theory suggests that NASA astronauts during the moon landings met with aliens, who eventually warned them not to return. “Compared to where we’ve been, that’s a massive leap forward,” Mr. Thornton said. In the coming decades, boots worn by visitors from these and other nations could add their prints to the lunar dust. Scientific Knowledge Pursue scientific activities that address fundamental questions about the history of Earth, the solar system and the universe - and about our place in them. In space, there is no air to breath and no air pressure. As these administrations wavered, entrepreneurs had begun brainstorming possible business ventures on the moon. + View Even a small Israeli nonprofit, SpaceIL, tried to send a small robotic lander there this year, but it crashed. But Astrobotic continued development, believing it would nonetheless find a profitable business delivering payloads to the moon. Yuri Gagarin, a member of the Soviet Air Force, was the first man to ever go … And some private companies could carry payloads for scientific research. The moon also gets points as an … Mr. Bridenstine says one of the main reasons for accelerating a return to the moon now is to reduce the chances of politicians changing their minds again. Consequently, no woman or person of color has had the opportunity to travel to, let alone walk on, the Moon. A primary impetus for a moon stampede now? The recent discovery of water within the moon’s polar craters has in part spurred renewed interest in visiting the moon. Astronauts don't always have the luxury of sitting down at a clean table with a clean notebook in a high-gravity environment when they need to … What 50-year-old dirty diapers can teach us about the potential origins of life on Earth.