First woman on the moon in 2024: NASA official

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s Artemis lunar exploration programme will land the first woman on the moon by 2024, says Joel R Montalbano, a top official of the American space agency.

The mission taking four astronauts, including the first woman, will be launched from the Kennedy Space Centre in 2022, Montalbano told DH. “By the Orion space capsule, they will dock to the Gateway. Two people will stay on board, and two people, including the woman will land on the moon.”

Despite geopolitical differences, the International Space Station (ISS) has endured as a symbol of global collaboration. Will this be sustained? “The beauty of the ISS is that it is Physics-based. And Physics is the same no material which country you are from,” reasoned Montalbano.

The experiments on board ISS have had several benefits. “We burn fuel on board. If we can apply that technology for future projects, we can see that less fuel is burnt in space. With less fuel-burn, we can put more payload. To me, that is a huge benefit for everyone worldwide.”

The effect of space on the human body is another area of interest. Montalbano elaborated: “As you get older, your bones get more brittle. Through exercise, change in diet, we are able to change that in astronauts. Today’s astronauts are coming back with zero bone loss unlike astronauts before. We can use this to help elderly people on earth.”