Once upon a time it was only NASA who dominated the field of space exploration and research. However, with the passage of time, several other private firms have come up, breaking NASA's monopoly in this field.
These private firms work in tandem with NASA and support each other from time to time in the quest for knowledge and information. Now private space companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin are enthusiastic and ready to cooperate with NASA in order to start deeper exploration on Earth's only satellite, the moon.
Back in the time when Barack Obama was the POTUS, missions on moon were scrapped off under the pretext that the explorations were repetitive, and the location was something that has already been looked into. The Obama administration instead urged NASA to look further into other things like asteroids and explorations to Mars.
However, with the change in administration, President Donald Trump is rumored to be showing interest to revive moon exploration missions.
Government's Support For NASA
Although President Trump hasn't spoken about NASA's moon mission in detail, people close to him — and some former NASA officials — have made it clear that there is interest in the White House to return to the moon in partnership with private space companies.
"There is certainly a renewed interest in the Moon in the Trump administration," said John Logsdon, a former director at George Washington University's Space Policy Institute.
The rumors may not be far away from the truth as for the first time in more than six years, the White House has passed the NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2017. The act grants $19.5 billion to NASA for future space explorations. The only thing needed to make the bill official is President Trump's signature.
The Space Constellation Program, which was conceived by former U.S. President George W. Bush, aimed at returning humans to the moon after the initial Apollo mission in the 1960s and 1970s. However, the program was canceled by Obama, who thought that it was too expensive and repetitive.
Logsdon states that the current Republican administration is irate with that fact and believes that cancelation of the Constellation program was a mistake.
Role Of Private Space Companies
Private sector companies are very much excited about the prospect of renewed moon missions as they have their own dreams for the same as well.
Reportedly, billionaires Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, and Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and owner of rocket company Blue Origin, have met with President Trump several times for talks about the proposed moon missions and partnership with NASA.
Rep. Brian Babin, chairman of the House Space Subcommittee, supports SpaceX's moon mission completely.
"I'm a strong advocate of private companies doing bold things in space. If SpaceX wants to go to the moon, I fully support that and look forward to working with them," stated Babin to Washington Examiner.
The president of Commercial Spaceflight Federation, Eric Stallmer, stated that he too thinks that the Trump administration is looking forward to do something "big and bold" and they will certainly be aiming for the moon.
Photo: Judy Schmidt | Flickr
