NASA plans to carry woman to Moon

Space X has been chosen by the Nasa to build a lander that will return humans to the Moon this decade. The venture will carry the next man and the first woman down to the lunar surface.

“As the Nasa takes a step forward for women’s equality, our partners alongwith will complete the first crewed demonstration mission to the surface of the Moon in the 21st century and long-term deep space exploration,” said Kathy Lueders,

the organisation’s head of human exploration. Elon Musk’s company SpaceX is part of the another goal of the programme will be to land the first person of colour on the Moon.

The lander is based on SpaceX’s Starship craft, which is being tested at a site in southern Texas, under the space agency’s Artemis programme.
SpaceX was competing against a joint bid from traditional aerospace giants and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, as well as Alabama-based Dynetics. The total value of the contract awarded to Musk’s company is $2.89bn.

The Artemis programme, initiated under the Trump administration, had targeted a return to the lunar surface in 2024. But a shortfall in funding of the landing system has made that goal unattainable.

Elon Musk has been developing the Starship design for years. Resembling the rocketships from the golden age of science fiction, it is a crucial component of the entrepreneur’s long-term plans for settling humans on Mars.

The new vehicle will be known as the Human Landing System (HLS).
Nasa has chosen more than one company when procuring space transport services, giving it options if one of them fails to deliver.