They're proposing a $2 billion contest to return Americans to the moon — far less than the expected cost of NASA's planned lunar project
Newt Gingrich and an eclectic band of NASA skeptics are trying sell President Donald Trump on a reality show-style plan to jump-start the return of humans to the moon — at a fraction of the space agency’s estimated price tag.
Gingrich maintains that space entrepreneurs like Musk and Bezos can rise to the challenge. And some of the companies told POLITICO they are intrigued by the idea of such a competition.
Trump set the 2024 deadline this year as part of an ambitious vision to create a permanent moon settlement that would serve as the staging ground for a journey to Mars.implored Administrator Jim Bridenstine to consider alternatives from others in the space community who are wary of the current plan. That fits a pattern in which Trump has taken an abiding interest in lowering the costs of other aerospace programs, including the new Air Force One and the F-35 fighter jet.
the administration’s overly narrow model for the proposed Space Force, which he believes must be structured to help industrialize space to benefit humans on Earth, not just militarize it.under his leadership at the Air Force's Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base. He told POLITICO he hopes some of the moon mission will be "handed over to a new set of players — players who don't operate in the delay-forever-to-maintain-cash flow manner of the SMIC," an acronym he coined for what he calls the “space-military industrial complex.”Sign Up
Potential contestants in the competition to build a settlement on the moon, according to the plan, include the Blue Moon lander vehicle being built by Bezos' Blue Origin; the 100-passenger Starship being developed by Musk's SpaceX; and the conceptual XeusOther possible players: inflatable lunar structures that are being designed and tested by Bigelow Aerospace, founded by Las Vegas hotel mogul Bob Bigelow, and nascent concepts for 3-D printed moon bases put forward by the likes of the...
Walker also cited growing concern "that Congress will not come up with the kind of money that will be necessary to meet the president’s time schedule." "The test will come either if the Congress won't fund [the current moon plan] or NASA just can't move at that speed," Gingrich said. "They haven't gotten to the big decisive moments."Sign up for Morning Defense, a daily briefing on Washington's national security apparatus.By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time.
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