A city on the moon.In 1961, President John F. Kennedy "John Kennedy" and "JFK" redirect here. For other uses, see John Kennedy (disambiguation) and JFK (disambiguation). John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917–November 22, 1963), was the thirty-fifth President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in challenged Americans to send astronauts to the moon. Now the National Aeronautics and Space Administration National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), civilian agency of the U.S. federal government with the mission of conducting research and developing operational programs in the areas of space exploration, artificial satellites (see satellite, artificial), [NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. ] has a new challenge. NASA recently announced a plan to build a permanent base on the moon by 2024. The program, whose total cost is yet unknown, would put astronauts on the lunar [moon] surface for the first time since 1972. "The lunar base will be a central theme in our going-forward plan," said Scott Horowitz, NASA's chief of moon exploration. Officials hope the base will be the first step toward sending astronauts to Mars and deeper into space. So far, NASA is leaning toward building the base at the moon's south pole South Pole, southern end of the earth's axis, lat. 90° S. It is distinguished from the south magnetic pole. The South Pole was reached by Roald Amundsen, a Norwegian explorer, in 1911. See Antarctica. , which gets almost constant sunlight. The agency hopes to begin sending four-astronaut crews to the moon in 2020. At first, astronauts would be able to stay only a week. Once the base is completed, they could stay up to six months at a time. "Not a Flag-and-Footprints" Supporters of the plan hope that it will give a boost to America's dreams for space exploration. As a result of President Kennedy's challenge, the Apollo program landed astronauts on the moon six times between 1969 and 1972. Many critics believe that NASA lost its way after its Apollo missions The Apollo missions were a series of space missions, both manned and unmanned, flown by NASA between 1961 and 1975. They culminated with a series of manned moon landings between 1969 and 1972. . In 2004, President George W. Bush proposed that NASA phase out its space-shuttle program and involvement with the International Space Station. Instead, he called for a return to the moon and active space exploration. Not all scientists agree with NASA's new direction. But many are thrilled that astronauts are going to the moon to stay. "This is not a flag-and-footprints," one space-policy expert told the Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. , referring to the historic Apollo moon landings. "This is the idea of starting an outward movement that includes long stays on the moon." Would you like to visit this city in space? Why or why not? |
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