Conference Presentation, Fireside Chat
NASA Astronaut Woody Hoburg | All-In Summit 2024
- NASA aims to establish a sustained human presence on the Moon via the Artemis program, which includes a lunar proving ground intended as a stepping stone to Mars, supported by a newly created Moon to Mars Directorate.
- Artemis 2 is scheduled for fall 2025, aiming to travel slightly farther from the Moon than Apollo missions, while the first crewed lunar landing (Artemis III) is currently targeted for 2026.
- Initial Artemis missions will target the lunar South Pole rather than the equator, utilizing rovers, nuclear power, and eventually a Moon base that evolves from sent missions to a permanent human presence.
- SpaceX's Starship is designated as the vehicle for the first crewed lunar landing, with an uncrewed demo planned prior to astronaut transport, while SpaceX also maintains a goal of a crewed Mars flight within four years.
- The strategy relies on bipartisan support to sustain the Moon-to-Mars campaign across changing administrations, though the specific path to becoming an astronaut remains undefined.
- ISS activities include two planned spacewalks to install new solar arrays, with anticipated communication outages due to storm damage to a Guam ground site during the mission.
- Recent research using the ISS model predicts that weightlessness accelerates heart tissue aging, providing a framework for studying heart disease treatments.
- The commercial Polaris Dawn mission is expected to be a five-day success featuring the first commercial spacewalk by crew members Jared and Sarah, involving vehicle depressurization and the use of spacewalk suits after only a few days of orientation to the space environment.