The United States plans to send not only its own astronauts to the Moon, but also an alien by the end of the decade, the White House announced on Wednesday.
This is expected to be officially announced later today at a meeting of the National Space Council by US Vice President Kamala Harris.
"It is announced that, along with American astronauts, the United States will send a foreign national astronaut to the lunar surface by the end of the decade," the White House announced.
The official goal of the US government is for US astronauts to return to the Moon in 2025 with the ARTEMIS-3 mission, although reports indicate that the actual US return to the lunar surface may not occur until 2027.
The crew of the ARTEMIS-3 mission has not yet been made public, but NASA management recently announced that it will include an American woman, who will be the first woman on the Moon.
The United States is implementing the lunar programme in cooperation with other countries.
Bilateral cooperation agreements in this area have already been signed with more than 36 countries, including Canada, whose citizen, as announced by NASA chief Bill Nelson earlier this year, will be part of the crew of the Artemis -2 mission".According to NASA's schedule, this mission is scheduled for 2024.
What's behind the US programme on the Moon
NASA will build a base on the Moon with two missions in the next few years:
Α. To control space in case of a possible collision with Russia and China.
Β. In the next few years, sending a spacecraft to Mars and deep space.
The Moon is currently in the plans of many space missions in the USA, China and Russia, who are keen to build bases on its surface.
China has carried out a number of manned missions to the Moon, including the first landing on the unseen side of the Moon.
Russia has plans to build a military base and explore for minerals. The Russian space agency Roscosmos recently announced plans to launch the Luna-25 mission to the Moon, raising alarm in the US about Moscow's real plans, which all appear to be preparing a military base for a space war with the West.
Scenarios and information speak of laser weapons and cyber weapons that could shoot down the satellites of the opposing power.
Tourism, entertainment, energy and raw materials are of course in the plans for the Moon, but the military presence of the Americans, Russians and Chinese is mainly about the use of nuclear weapons in the event of a global conflict, and this must never be forgotten.
