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The boss of NASA has revealed a dystopian plan to build a human ‘village’ on the moon in the next 10 years.
The moon could look very different by the year 2035 if the plans are successful.
This is according to Sean Duffy, who is the acting administrator of the US space agency.
Duffy spoke about the idea of putting a permanent base on the lunar surface during an appearance on a panel at the International Aeronautical Congress (IAC) in Sydney, Australia.
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He said: “We are going to have sustained human life on the moon, not just an outpost, but a village.”
NASA certainly has big plans for the moon, with its Artemis II mission set to send four astronauts on its first lunar trip in over half a century.
This mission won’t actually land on the moon this time but it’s hoped that it will be an integral part of eventually establishing a long-term base there.
During Artemis II, astronauts will test out the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft which is hoped to eventually take humans to the moon.
The mission will take place over 10 days, where the crew will travel a whopping 5,700 miles past the moon before returning to Earth.
Then, Artemis III will set off in 2027, which will see two astronauts land on the moon and will require them to live there for around seven days.
In this mission, NASA will make history by ‘sending the first humans to explore the region near the lunar South Pole’.
On its website, the space agency said: “NASA has selected SpaceX to provide the human landing system that will transport Artemis III astronauts from Orion in lunar orbit to the surface of the Moon and back again. SpaceX plans to use a unique concept of operations to increase the overall efficiency of their lander. After a series of tests, SpaceX will fly at least one uncrewed demo mission that lands Starship on the lunar surface. When Starship has met all of NASA’s requirements and high standards for crew safety, it will be ready for its first Artemis mission.
“Before the crew launch, SpaceX will launch a storage depot to Earth orbit. A series of reusable tankers will carry propellant to the storage depot to fuel the human landing system. The uncrewed Starship human landing system will then launch to Earth orbit and rendezvous with the storage depot to fill its tanks before executing a translunar injection engine burn and traveling approximately six days to NRHO where it will await the Artemis III crew.”
