FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—During the Trump administration’s first 100 days, NASA has made significant moves toward planting an American flag on Mars and getting a man back on the moon.
In his inaugural address, President Donald Trump said America “will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars.”
In just a few months, NASA has expedited the return of American astronauts stranded in space; brought Panama and Bangladesh on as signatories of the Artemis Accords, which establish shared space exploration principles; and started the process of getting man to both Mars and the moon.
“Here at NASA, we’re putting the America First agenda into play amongst the stars, ensuring the United States wins the space race at this critical juncture in time,” NASA spokeswoman Bethany Stevens said.
Teams began testing on the first of three 12-kW solar electric propulsion thrusters, which offer the necessary fuel economy and mission flexibility for long-duration missions to the moon and Mars.
Solar electric propulsion, which uses electricity generated by solar panels to power electric thrusters, offers sustained cargo transport, orbital maneuvering, and transit operations necessary for a Mars landing.
NASA completed its fourth “entry, descent, and landing” technology test in three months, accelerating innovation to achieve precision landings on Mars.
NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications experiment enabled the high-bandwidth connections essential for communications with crewed missions to Mars.
Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission One successfully delivered 10 NASA payloads to the moon, advancing landing, autonomy, and data collection skills for the future Mars mission.
A payload is a portion of a spacecraft or rocket that is responsible for achieving the mission’s primary objectives.
NASA’s Moon to Mars Architecture Workshop gathered industry, academic, and international partners to refine exploration plans and identify collaboration opportunities.
On Dec. 11, 2017, Trump in his first term signed Space Policy Directive 1, which stated that “the United States will lead the return of humans to the Moon for long-term exploration and utilization, followed by human missions to Mars and other destinations.”
It has now been more than 52 years since an American has landed on the moon.
Trump’s second-term NASA has been preparing for Artemis II, the 2026 mission to the moon.
Teams at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, have joined the core stage with the solid rocket boosters inside the Vehicle Assembly Building.
The core stage is the backbone of the rocket, supporting other components and carrying the payload.
Engineers lifted the launch vehicle stage adapter atop the Space Launch System core stage, connecting key systems to power the lunar return.
NASA attached the solar array wings that will help power the Orion spacecraft on its journey around the moon. Technicians also installed the protective fairings on Orion’s service module to shield the spacecraft during the launch and ascent phase.
NASA joined forces with the Department of Defense for Artemis II recovery training to make sure the U.S. is prepared to retrieve our astronauts after their historic mission around the moon.
The space agency unveiled the Artemis II mission patch, designating the mission as “AII.” That signifies the second major flight of the Artemis campaign, as well as an endeavor of discovery that seeks to explore for all and by all.
NASA also finished stacking the twin solid rocket boosters for Artemis II. ·
“In just 100 days, under the bold leadership of President Trump and acting Administrator Janet Petro, NASA has continued to further American innovation in space,” Stevens, the NASA spokeswoman, said.
This article was originally published at www.dailysignal.com
