As NASA is busy preparing taking humans to moon by 2024, William Gerstenmaier, the head of the space agency's human exploration program has been demoted from his current position.
Gerstenmaier has been now reassigned to a new role as special advisor to NASA's deputy administrator. The new change in leadership comes just a few weeks after Mark Sirangelo, an assistant to NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine quit from his job.
However, Ken Bowersox, a former NASA astronaut will be now heading the space agency's human exploration program.
Jim Bridenstine, the NASA administrator revealed that this new decision was taken to meet the challenges in the upcoming human space missions. Bridenstine also thanked Gerstenmaier for his valuable contributions to the space agency.
"As you know, NASA has been given a bold challenge to put the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024, with a focus on the ultimate goal of sending humans to Mars. In an effort to meet this challenge, I have decided to make leadership changes to the Human Exploration and Operations (HEO) Mission Directorate. We, as a nation, are thankful for his service in advancing America's priorities and expanding the limits of science, technology, and exploration," wrote Jim Bridenstine to NASA employees, the Verge reports.
In another high-profile executive change, Bill Hill has been reassigned from the post of deputy associate administrator of human exploration to special advisor position.
In the meantime, several industry experts claim that NASA will not accomplish their ultimate goal of landing on the moon within the stipulated deadline. As per these experts, funding issues may also hinder the space agency from landing on the moon within the deadline set by US President Donald Trump.
Space experts believe that landing on the moon is quite crucial to accomplish the ultimate goal of Mars colonization. A few days back, former US astronaut Buzz Aldrin had revealed that Stephen Hawking wanted to colonize moon before landing humans on the Mars.
