NASA wants astronauts to go back to the moon in 2024. Is it possible?

Washington, DC CNN Business — Only a few months ago, NASA officials were still hashing out plans for a slow-and-steady return to the moon in 2028. Then, in March, Vice President Mike Pence made a stunning announcement: NASA was directed to return American astronauts to the lunar surface within the next five years “by any means necessary.” That return would mark the first crewed moon mission since the Apollo program ended nearly five decades ago. Also on NASA’s to-do list is a small space station, Gateway, that the agency wants to use as a command center; and a lunar lander, which would ferry astronauts from Gateway to the moon’s surface. NASA’s early estimate is that it will take an extra $4 billion to $6 billion per year on top of the agency’s $20 billion annual allowance, Bridenstine told CNN Business’ Crane. The Trump administration’s suggestion that Congress siphon $1.6 billion from the Pell Grants program, which provides grants for low-income students, was rebuked by Horn and others as a “nonstarter.” The Artemis Generation It took seven years from President John F. Kennedy’s iconic 1962 speech declaring America would put the first boots on the moon until it did so with the first Apollo landing in 1969.