Sun, Aug 25, 2019
Prize Could Be As Much As $2 Billion To Establish A Lunar Base
It's well known that space travel is difficult, and expensive. But former Speaker of the U.S. House Newt Gingrich is proposing that the U.S. government offer a $2 billion prize to a private company that can establish a lunar base.
Politico reports that Gingrich, along with others who are skeptical of NASA's ambitious plan to return to the Moon by 2024, want to see if private companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin can establish such a base faster and less expensively than NASA, according to a summary of the plan shared with Politico.
NASA's return to the Moon is estimated to cost $50 billion or more.
Gingrich and others believe that private companies can make the plan a reality for far less money. In an interview, Gingrich said he thinks "people would be shocked how fast they can move."
Air Force Lt. Gen. Steven Kwast, a co-author of the plan, said China is on a path to establish a lunar settlement in 20 years, while NASA's plan could take half a century. “We are not aggressive about it. We have the wrong strategy, the wrong ideas, the wrong doctrine. We are trapped in an industrial age model of thinking about space,” Kwast said.
Gingrich and his co-authors are trying to sell President Trump on the plan, but White House spokesman Will Boyington would not discuss any internal communications about the idea. NASA said it has not received any formal proposal. “At NASA we look forward to working with new partners as we focus on executing [Trump’s] Space Policy Directive 1, which instructs the agency to return American astronauts to the moon and pursue human exploration of Mars and the broader solar system," NASA spokeswoman Bettina Inclán told Politico via email. "NASA is implementing this plan through the Artemis program which will send the first woman and next man to the lunar surface by 2024.”
CNet reports that SpaceX founder Elon Musk is at least intrigued by the concept. In a Tweet, Musk said "This is a great idea", to which Gingrich responded via Twitter "Very cool. Thanks Elon."
(Image from file)
More News
From 2023 (YouTube Version): Legacy of a Titan Robert (Bob) Anderson Hoover was a fighter pilot, test pilot, flight instructor, and air show superstar. More so, Bob Hoover was an i>[...]
Get The Latest in Aviation News NOW on Instagram Are you on Instagram yet? It's been around for a few years, quietly picking up traction mostly thanks to everybody's new obsession >[...]
Aero Linx: B-52H Stratofortress The B-52H Stratofortress is a long-range, heavy bomber that can perform a variety of missions. The bomber is capable of flying at high subsonic spee>[...]
Altimeter Setting The barometric pressure reading used to adjust a pressure altimeter for variations in existing atmospheric pressure or to the standard altimeter setting (29.92).>[...]
"Knowing that we play an active part in bettering people's lives is extremely rewarding. My team and I are very thankful for the opportunity to be here and to help in any way we ca>[...]