NASA plans to send first woman on Moon by 2024 under Artemis programme

Under its Artemis programme, NASA’s ultimate goal is to put astronauts on the Moon in a sustainable, long-term presence.

American space agency NASA is planning to land the first woman on the Moon by the year 2024.

This NASA photo obtained March 5, 2020 shows NASA’s Orion spacecraft, a critical part of the agency’s Artemis I mission. (AFP File Photo /NASA/Handout)

Along with the first American woman on the moon, the next man will also set foot on the Moon as part of the space agency’s Artemis programme which will explore as much of the Moon’s surface as possible and create sustainable missions to the earth’s natural satellite by 2028.

Learnings and experience gained from the Artemis program will be used as a stepping stone for the agency’s next ambitious project – that of sending astronauts to Mars.

The agency will use Space Launch System rocket (SLS) for the Artemis mission. The SLS has been in development for a long while and it’s gone through rigorous testing to ensure it meets NASA’s demands. It is working to ensure that the SLS rocket and the accompanying Orion spacecraft are safe and reliable for the challenging moon mission.

It announced the completion of the rocket’s structural testing in a message on Twitter on July 2.

SLS, along with NASA’s Orion spacecraft, the Human Landing System and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, are NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts and supplies to the Moon on a single mission, NASA said in a statement.