Jakarta, domclub Indonesia
—
President
United States
Donald Trump has ambitions to send
astronaut
from the US returning to the Moon in 2028.This is a competitive step against China in the space race between the two countries.
In the newly signed executive order, Trump set the United States’ goal of landing humans on the Moon by 2028 and protecting space from weapons threats.
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The move marks the first major space policy of his second term.The order came just hours after billionaire private astronaut and former SpaceX customer Jared Isaacman was sworn in as NASA’s 15th administrator.
Launch
Reuters
on Friday (19/12), the order also restructured national space policy coordination under Trump’s top science adviser, Michael Kratsios.
Titled ”
ENSURING AMERICAN SPACE SUPERIORITY
,” the executive order instructs the Department of Defense and US intelligence agencies to develop a space security strategy, emphasizes the importance of efficiency among private contractors, and calls for demonstrations of missile defense technology as part of Trump’s Golden Dome program.
The goal of landing a man on the Moon by the end of his second term in 2028 is similar to Trump’s direction in his first term of returning to the Moon in 2024.
The directive puts the Moon at the center of U.S. space exploration policy, but many in the industry consider the deadline unrealistic.
Delays in the development and testing of NASA’s space launch system (Space Launch System) and SpaceX’s Starship are gradually delaying the target landing date.
NASA’s original goal was 2028 under the leadership of President Barack Obama.
Lunar Base in 2030
A Moon landing by astronauts in 2028 will be the first of many missions NASA plans in its Artemis program.This mission aims to establish a long-term presence on the lunar surface.
The United States competes with China, which plans to land a crew on the Moon by 2030.
On Thursday, the order called for “establishment of initial elements of a permanent Lunar outpost by 2030,” reinforcing NASA’s goal to develop a long-term base with nuclear resources.
Early in his second term, Trump repeatedly discussed a mission to Mars.Elon Musk, a major donor who prioritized sending humans to Mars for his company SpaceX, acted as a close advisor and check on the efficiency of the government in power at the time.
However, members of Congress are slowly refocusing on the Moon as a destination.They pressured then-designate NASA director Isaacman to continue NASA’s Moon program, which had received billions of dollars in funding.
In an effort to efficiency the government led by Musk, the White House is cutting NASA’s workforce by 20 percent and is trying to cut NASA’s 2026 budget by around 25 percent from its usual budget of US$25 billion (around Rp. 415 trillion to Rp. 418 trillion).
This would threaten dozens of space science programs that scientists and some officials consider priorities.
He believes that the space agency should target both the Moon and Mars simultaneously, while prioritizing a return to the Moon to defeat China.
The target of landing on the Moon in 2028 depends heavily on the progress of development of SpaceX’s giant Starship lander.NASA’s former acting administrator has criticized him for moving too slowly.
(wpj/dmi)
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