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On Aug. 16, 2019, NASA
Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced the agency’s Marshall Space Flight
Center in Huntsville, Alabama, will lead the Human Landing System Program.
Bridenstine was joined by Representatives Mo Brooks and Robert Aderholt of
Alabama and Representative Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee. NASA will rapidly
develop the lander for safely carrying the first woman and the next man to the
Moon’s surface in 2024. The Artemis missions will start with launch by the
world’s most powerful rocket, NASA’s Space Launch System, also managed by
Marshall. Bridenstine made the announcement in front of the 149-foot-tall SLS
liquid hydrogen structural test article, currently being tested to help ensure
the structure can safely launch astronauts on the Artemis lunar missions. Credits: NASA Television
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Ken Kremer -- SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM – 18 Aug 2019
CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine has selected NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center to lead the development of the Artemis human lunar lander for a return to the Moon’s surface by 2024, during an announcement from Marshall broadcast live on NASA TV on Aug 16, 2019.
Bridenstine made the announcement in front of the 149-foot-tall Space Launch System (SLS) rocket liquid hydrogen tank structural test article currently being tested at Marshall.
NASA is already developing the SLS megarocket to launch astronauts to the Moon aboard the Orion deep space capsule.
Orion will dock at the Gateway mini space station in lunar orbit which is also under development by NASA.
But to get those astronauts to the lunar surface requires development of a human lander – which had been the missing element and was was the subject of the Aug. 16 announcement.
Back in March, Vice President Mike Pence challenged NASA to accelerate plans to return to the Moon and announced the Trump Administrations new goal of achieving an American lunar landing by 2024 at the south pole with the first woman and next man from NASA’s astronaut corps.
That 2024 landing target is four years earlier then NASA’s prior goal of 2028 and would take place on the Artemis-3 mission. The recently renamed program derives from Artemis being the twin sister of Apollo – NASA’s original Moon landing program begun by President Kennedy.
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Artists concept for NASA’s human return to
the Moon’s surface by 2024 under Project Artemis. Credit: NASA
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"NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine was joined Friday by U.S. Representatives Mo Brooks and Robert Aderholt of Alabama and Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, to announce the center’s new role leading the agency’s Human Landing System Program for its return to the Moon by 2024.
“Marshall Space Flight Center is the birthplace of America’s space program. It was Marshall scientists and engineers who designed, built, tested, and helped launch the giant Saturn V rocket that carried astronauts on the Apollo missions to the Moon,” Brooks said. “Marshall has unique capabilities and expertise not found at other NASA centers. I’m pleased NASA has chosen Marshall to spearhead a key component of America’s return to the Moon and usher in the Artemis era. Thanks to Administrator Bridenstine for travelling here to share the great news in person.”
Bridenstine discussed the announcement in front of the 149-foot-tall Space Launch System (SLS) rocket liquid hydrogen tank structural test article currently being tested.
“We greatly appreciate the support shown here today by our representatives in Congress for NASA’s Artemis program and America’s return to the Moon, where we will prepare for our greatest feat for humankind – putting astronauts on Mars,” Bridenstine said. “We focus on a ‘One NASA’ integrated approach that uses the technical capabilities of many centers. Marshall has the right combination of expertise and experience to accomplish this critical piece of the mission.”
Informed by years of expertise in propulsion systems integration and technology development, engineers at Marshall will work with American companies to rapidly develop, integrate, and demonstrate a human lunar landing system that can launch to the Gateway, pick up astronauts and ferry them between the Gateway and the surface of the Moon.
“Marshall Space Flight Center, and North Alabama, have played a key role in every American human mission to space since the days of Mercury 7. I am proud that Marshall has been selected to be the lead for the landers program,” said Aderholt. “I am also very proud that Marshall has designed and built the rocket system, the Space Launch System, which will make missions to the Moon and Mars possible. We look forward to working with our industry partners and our NASA partners from around the country.
"NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, which manages major NASA human spaceflight programs including the Gateway, Orion, Commercial Crew and International Space Station, will oversee all aspects related to preparing the landers and astronauts to work together. Johnson also will manage all Artemis missions, beginning with Artemis 1, the first integrated test of NASA’s deep space exploration systems.
The trip to Marshall came the day after Bridenstine visited NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, where he viewed progress on the SLS core stage that will power NASA’s Artemis 1 lunar mission. With the start of testing in June on the liquid hydrogen tank article, and the recent arrival of the liquid oxygen tank at Marshall, which manages the SLS Program, NASA is more than halfway through SLS structural testing.
“The Tennessee Valley, including Huntsville and stretching across Middle Tennessee, is a dynamic, exciting region, home to thousands of men and women – working at both public and private institutions – who are leading the United States into the next age of space exploration,” said DesJarlais. “As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I am thrilled to visit one of our country’s premier facilities, near Arnold Air Force Base and others, developing the latest spaceflight technology. NASA’s Artemis program will help our country to create another American Century. We can be proud of our achievements, especially here at the Marshall Space Flight Center.”
NASA recently issued a draft solicitation and requested comments from American companies interested in providing an integrated human landing system – a precursor to the final solicitation targeted for release in the coming months. The agency’s human lunar exploration plans are based on a two-phase approach: the first is focused on speed – landing on the Moon within five years, while the second will establish a sustained human presence on and around the Moon by 2028. The agency will use what we learn on the Moon to prepare for the next giant leap – sending astronauts to Mars.
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NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and KSC
Director Bob Cabana outline NASA’s Lunar Gateway and Project Artemis lunar
landing program by the countdown clock at the Kennedy Space Center on May 23,
2019. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
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Stay tuned here for Ken's continuing Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news: www.kenkremer.com –www.spaceupclose.com – twitter @ken_kremer – email: ken at kenkremer.com
Dr. Kremer is a research scientist and journalist based in the KSC area, active in outreach and interviewed regularly on TV and radio about space topics.
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