NASA says that at least one of the astronauts landing on the moon will be a woman, making her the first woman to set foot on the moon. After a week exploring the moon, they’ll board the lander to return to Orion and head back to Earth. Then two crew members will transfer to SpaceX’s lander for their descent to the lunar surface. The plan calls for NASA to send four astronauts aboard the Lockheed Martin-built Orion spacecraft on a multi-day journey to the moon’s orbit.
NASA selected 18 astronauts last year to train for the moon mission. The moon lander is being built as part of the Artemis program, which aims to bring Americans back to the moon by 2024, before setting its sights on Mars and beyond. NASA has also contracted with SpaceX on other projects, such as its Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule that will ferry astronauts to the International Space Station in the coming week. “This critical step puts humanity on a path to sustainable lunar exploration and keeps our eyes on missions farther into the solar system, including Mars,” Lueders said in a statement. “With this award, NASA and our partners will complete the first crewed demonstration mission to the surface of the Moon in the 21st century as the agency takes a step forward for women’s equality and long-term deep space exploration,” said Kathy Lueders, NASA’s associate administrator for Human Explorations and Operations Mission Directorate.
It’s the first time the space agency has used a human lander built by a private company, and it marks an important milestone for an agency that has in recent years depended on commercial partnerships for its most important missions. On Friday NASA announced SpaceX’s “Starship” design had beat out the other two companies for the contract. SpaceX was one of three companies chosen last year to develop technology for NASA’s Human Landing System program. NASA will pay Elon Musk’s SpaceX $2.9 billion to build a lunar landing system to ferry astronauts to the surface of the moon.
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