Artemis project naming… China and Russia are out
Secretary of State Blinken: “Space cooperation will bring results”
An international astronaut will join American astronauts on the moon within 10 years under an agreement announced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the White House on the 20th (local time).
This news came as Vice President Kamala Harris convened a meeting of the National Space Council in Washington. The National Space Committee’s meeting will be held for the third time under the Biden administration.
There was no mention of who the international astronauts who would land on the moon would be or which countries they would represent. A NASA spokeswoman said crews would be assigned closer to the lunar mission and that commitments to other countries had not yet been made.
NASA has included international astronauts in space travel for decades. Canada’s Jeremy Hansen plans to fly around the moon with three American astronauts over the next year or so.
Another astronaut might actually land. This will be the first astronaut moon landing in more than half a century. However, a moon landing will not occur before 2027, according to the Government Accountability Office.
All 12 astronauts who participated in NASA’s Apollo program in the 1960s and 1970s were American. NASA’s new lunar exploration program was named Artemis after the twin sisters of Apollo mythology.
“The inclusion of international partners is truly appreciated and something desperately needed in today’s world,” Hansen told the space committee.
NASA has emphasized the need for global cooperation in space, including signing the Artemis Agreement with the U.S. Department of State in 2020 to encourage responsible behavior not only on the Moon but in all of space. Representatives from the 33 countries that signed the agreement are expected to attend the Space Committee meeting.
U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken cited the Webb Space Telescope jointly developed by the United States, Europe, and Canada as an example and said, “I know from experience that cooperation in space brings results.”
However, in addition to the United States, Russia and China, which have sent their citizens into orbit, were excluded from the Artemis Agreement. Russia is NASA’s partner on the International Space Station (ISS), along with Europe, Japan, and Canada.
Meanwhile, Vice President Harris also announced new policies at the meeting to ensure the safe use of space as more and more private companies and countries set their sights on the skies. The problems the United States is trying to solve include the climate crisis and the increase in space debris around the Earth. Russia’s satellite missile tests in 2021 added more than 1,500 potentially dangerous pieces of debris into orbit, and Secretary Blinken urged all countries to stop such destructive tests.
[케이프커내버럴(미 플로리다주)=AP/뉴시스]
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.