Humans will once again set foot on the moon as part of a massive celestial expedition to Mars. NASA has hired Elon Musk’s SpaceX for $2.9 billion to construct the spacecraft that will launch a crew of 18 astronauts into Earth’s orbit to land on the moon and eventually the red planet itself. The mission has been dubbed Project Artemis; according to CNBC, Musk revealed on an award show webcast that he is “highly confident” that SpaceX will land humans on Mars by 2026.
The astronaut crew is made up of 18 individuals all of which have military experience and/or science degrees. Of the group, nine crew members are women and eight members are people of color, making this NASA’s most diverse group of cosmic voyagers to date. One astronaut that stood out from the group was Stephanie Wilson, a 55 year old African-American veteran astronaut with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering, and Masters of Science in Aerospace Engineering. In an interview posted on NASA’s YouTube channel, Wilson was asked about her passion for science and what this mission means for the future: “I had a great curiosity for what’s unknown and I like to solve problems, so I love trying to understand and have a better sense of the universe and what that means to humanity. Who we are, what our history is, and how we leverage that knowledge to bring benefits to humanity.”
The last time humanity set foot on the moon was December 19, 1972. It was a three day mission that included three astronauts, all of which were white men, who flew aboard Apollo 17 and took a few geological surveys. On September 28, 2019, after SpaceX successfully launched its Crew-2 mission into orbit, Musk commented on humanity’s absence from the moon, stating, “It’s been now almost half a century since humans were last on the moon. That’s too long, we need to get back there and have a permanent base on the moon- again, like a big permanently occupied space on the moon. And then build a city on Mars to become a spacefaring civilization, a multi-planet species.”
Currently, SpaceX is developing and testing Starship, a gigantic stainless steel rocket, at NASA’s development facility in Boca Chica, Texas. This spacecraft is meant to send supplies and crew members on journeys to the moon and Mars. Its prototypes measure at nearly 150 feet tall, which is the height of a 15-story building. Three powerful Raptor rocket engines will be attached to Starship that will help jettison the rocket into space.
Project Artemis will be one of mankind’s most ambitious expeditions yet. Supported by people known as America’s most intelligent and skilled astronauts, engineers, analysts, and entrepreneurs, this extraterrestrial odyssey is likely to go down in the pages of history. The future of the human race could very well be changed in the next few years if this mission is successful. Soon, descendants may even colonize Mars and start an entirely new chapter in human history.
Cover photo courtesy of Endgadget.com
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Michael Ybarra is a staff writer for for The Lion's Roar. You can learn more information about the writer by clicking here.
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