Can Nasa really pull off a Moon landing by 2028?published at 14:26 BST
14:26 BST
Pallab Ghosh
Science correspondent, in Florida
That is the official line, but many experts believe that to
be optimistic.
The plan for the Moon landing is elaborate. First, the SLS
mega rocket launches an Orion capsule into lunar orbit.
Waiting there is a second, commercially built spacecraft
that acts as a lunar lander. Two astronauts climb aboard, ride it down to the
surface for several days of exploration, then blast back up to rejoin Orion for
the journey home.
It is being done in this complicated way because the US
Congress has effectively locked Nasa into flying SLS and Orion, pushing the
agency towards buying the lander from private firms rather than building a
single all-in-one spacecraft, like Apollo.
SpaceX’s Starship, owned by Elon Musk, is first in
line for that job, with Blue Origin – owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos – developing
a rival lander later in the decade.
But Starship still has to prove it can reach orbit, refuel
in space and dock reliably – all before Nasa will risk a crew.
Looming large over all this is the prospect of China
attempting its own crewed landing around 2030.
If Artemis keeps slipping, Washington risks watching Beijing
plant the next flag on the Moon, and that is a race US politicians are very
reluctant to lose.