NASA, or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, was created in 1958 by former United States President Dwight Eisenhower. Initially, the federal government agency’s purpose was to gently nudge people in the direction of experimenting with space science. However, thanks to the international competition between Russia and the United States as part of the Cold War, astronauts were first sent on spacewalks in low Earth orbit in 1961. In 1969, the Apollo space program became a big win for the United States of America after Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong landed on the Moon.
For the longest time, NASA didn’t make any major advancements due to a lack of urgency. After the United States had run laps around the USSR in being the first to go on a spacewalk, land on the Moon, and countless other accomplishments, NASA simply didn’t have any reason to advance space exploration and the technology that could accommodate space exploration.
No longer than a few days ago, NASA came out with a press release that detailed its plans for the next 20 years. It came out with what’s called the Exploration Campaign, which is a five-part plan that will be carried out in five phases. These phases start at Phase 0 and end at Phase 4.
Here’s what NASA wants to do first – it sure does make a lot of sense
First, NASA wants to promote the privatization of everything related to space. If commercial operations aren’t involved in space activities, missions won’t be able to get off the ground due to a lack of government funding. Privitization will help boost a space economy, thereby keeping space operations afloat.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration then plans on conducting missions on the Moon’s surface and in lunar orbit
In Phase 1, NASA wants to conduct operations on the Moon’s surface on a long-term, sustainable scale. Preparing for such conditions on the Moon will greatly increase the chances of survival once space pioneers make it to Mars.
The United States’ federal government space agency also wants to conduct training missions while orbiting the moon. While on the Moon, NASA wants to build Deep Space Gateway and Deep Space Transport. The latter of the two, Deep Space Transport, will likely be launched from the Moon directly to Mars.
Phases 3 and 4 involve visiting Mars and its moons and later landing on its surface, respectively.
