NASA says astronauts will be living on moon by 2030

Think inhabiting the moon is stuff of science fiction fantasy? One NASA official reckons it will be a reality by the end of this decade, with the latest Artemis 1 mission the ‘first step.’

Astronauts could be living and working on the moon by 2030, one NASA official says.

Head of US agency Orion lunar programme, Howard Hu, reckons that humans will be able to live in specially made habitats and travel the moon in rovers.

Speaking on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg show, Hu commented that ‘certainly this decade we’re going to have people living for durations […] on the surface.’ He added ‘we are going to be sending people down to the surface and they are going to be living on that surface.’ Exciting stuff.

This might sound like a fanciful pipe dream, but NASA says its latest project, the Artemis 1, is the ‘first step’ toward long-term deep-space exploration. The rocket has the Orion spacecraft attached to the top, and was launched on Wednesday from Cape Canaveral in Florida.

Orion has three fully suited mannequins inside. These will be able to test, register, and monitor the stresses and strains of the Artemis 1 mission.

LIVE NOW: The @NASA_Orion spacecraft is performing its first powered lunar flyby.

Orion will make its closest approach to the lunar surface during the #Artemis I mission – approximately 80 miles – at 7:57am ET (12:57 UTC). https://t.co/rO5HBPx0Ec

— NASA (@NASA) November 21, 2022