Astronaut Fischer: US postpones sending humans to the moon due to other priorities on the Moon.
In his opinion, the United States is postponing sending people to a natural satellite of the Earth due to the presence of other priorities.
“Our country has certain priorities that crowd out other things. Since the Moon is not a strategic priority as much as others – especially in a pandemic – they are postponing it a bit, “said the former astronaut.
In November, Space.com, citing a report from the US Inspector General Paul Martin's space agency reported that NASA will spend $ 93 billion on the Artemis lunar program by 2025. The publication notes that the estimate of $ 93 billion covers the period of work being carried out from 2012 to 2025 fiscal year. By comparison, from 1960 to 1973, the United States spent $ 280 billion on the Apollo program (at current exchange rates).
In October, NASA set the closest launch date for SLS from Orion to the Moon on February 12, 2022. As part of the unmanned mission Artemis 1, the spacecraft must fly around a natural satellite of the Earth. Depending on the relative positions of the Moon and the Earth at the time of the launch of the rocket, the duration of the mission will be from three to six weeks.