Washington [US], December 22: 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 US 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.
Source: Qatar Tribune
