Loading...
A senior NASA official surprised everyone when he announced his resignation after being appointed less than two months ago. The official was responsible for developing an effective strategy that would have brought NASA astronauts to the moon by 2024, within the time limit offered by the Trump administration.
Mark Sirangelo was named as special assistant to Jim Bridenstine, the administrator of NASA. The decision appears to have been motivated by the agency’s failure to secure the creation of a new division, an idea that was rejected by the government.
Sources close to the agency said Sirangelo resigned on Wednesday. The resignation was approved and he was taken out of NASA headquarters. NASA has proposed the creation of a special board, which would focus on lunar missions, followed by new strategies to reach Mars. The initiative was shot down by lawmakers, and NASA will have to maintain its original structure for now.
NASA chief executive resigns weeks after naming his role
The Trump administration has called for an increase in NASA’s spending budget for 2020 by $ 1.6 billion to accelerate current projects and ease the goal of returning to the satellite in less than five years.
The new initiative was called Artemis, in honor of the Greek goddess of hunting. The initial programming involved a manned mission until 2028, with the main target being the establishment of a station in lunar orbit in 2024. Congress does not seem to be very enthusiastic about the new targets, since the suggestion for additional funding was received cold . reactions.
More and more people are starting to become skeptical when it comes to the possibility of returning to the moon in 2024. Bridenstine has already stated that if the budget is not increased, the agency will return to the previous target, changing the crew’s date. mission back to 2028. NASA also announced that Maxar Technologies Inc was selected as the first contractor for the Gateway station.
