As NASA is busy formulating their plans to land the first woman and the next man on the moon by 2024, the space agency is expected to announce something exciting about earth's only natural satellite on October 26. According to NASA, the discovery was made using the SOFIA telescope which is attached to a modified commercial jet flying high in the atmosphere.
Speculations Surrounding the New Discovery
Even though no details about the new discovery has been disclosed so far, NASA has revealed that the finding will have crucial significance in determining the future of the space agency's deep space exploration under its Artemis program. Details about the discovery will be unveiled by Paul Herts, director of Astrophsics, and Naseem Rangwala, project scientist for SOFIA.
Under the Artemis mission, NASA is planning to land humans on the moon by 2024. The primary purpose of this landing is to set up a permanent lunar base, which will play a crucial role in shaping the Mars colonization missions.
A report published in the US science journal Nature, the much-celebrated SOFIA mission is currently under pressure to justify its cost to the US taxpayer of $85 million per year. The first flight of the SOFIA mission was carried out in 2017, and it is now the biggest aeroplane-based observatory in the globe.
Apart from taking stunning images of the moon, the SOFIA telescope is also capable of monitoring distant space bodies and asteroids.
Donald Trump Assures Human Moon Landing
Even though NASA has been facing funding issues over the past few years, reigning United States President Donald Trump who will face the election on November 3, had claimed that America will again land humans on the moon. In addition, "America will land the first woman on the Moon and the United States will be the first nation to land an astronaut on Mars, we're getting very close," said Trump.
