US Announces Plan To Land Astronaut On Moon "By End Of Decade"

US Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday announced plans to land an international astronaut on the surface of the Moon by the end of the decade. Charing a meeting of the National Space Council (NSC), Ms Harris said the astronaut will be sent as part of NASA's Artemis programme, space.com reported. While the US government had earlier said that it will send astronauts to fly around the Moon in spacecraft, Wednesday's announcement confirms that it will actually allow one of them to walk on the lunar surface.

"We intend to land an international astronaut on the surface of the moon by the end of the decade," Ms Harris is quoted as saying by the outlet. She, however, didn't provide further details, like which nation that astronaut will represent.

"This announcement, and this meeting of our National Space Council, is further demonstration of our belief in the critical importance of international partnership," she added.

The Artemis 2 mission is scheduled to take off next year, more than a year after its predecessor - Artemis 1. With the new mission, NASA plans to successfully send astronauts to the Earth's satellite rather than only robots on board in Artemis 1.

This will be followed by the surface missions. Artemis 3, which will put astronauts down near the lunar south pole, is targeted for 2025 or 2026. After that will come Artemis 4 and Artemis 5, which could launch as soon as 2028 and 2029, said space.com report.

CNN said the Artemis mission will carry four astronauts but only will be allowed to descend to the surface of the Moon.

"NASA has committed to three opportunities for European Space Agency astronauts to fly to Gateway, one opportunity to fly a Canadian Space Agency astronaut to Gateway and one opportunity on Artemis II, and one opportunity for a Japanese (JAXA) astronaut to fly to Gateway," a NASA official told the outlet. "Beyond Artemis II, these crew opportunities have not been designated to specific Artemis missions."