NASA claims we could be living and working on the Moon by 2030

Humans are on track to live and work on the Moon by 2030, a NASA official said.

“We’re going to send people to the surface and they’re going to live on that surface and do science,” said Howard Hu, who runs the Orion lunar spacecraft program for NASA, the BBC reported on Sunday.

NASA successfully launched its powerful new Space Launch System, or SLS, rocket last week, sending the Orion spacecraft on its way to the Moon.

The launch, which had been repeatedly delayed, launched NASA’s Artemis missions, the first major step toward returning humans to the Moon in nearly 50 years.

Orion is unmanned this time, as it aims to test its ability to take a capsule to the Moon and back. But next time it is expected to take astronauts with it as it orbits the celestial body.

If all goes well, the same spacecraft could be used to put humans on the surface of the Moon, for the first time since 1972, including the first female astronaut.

The current plan is for the crew to land near the Moon’s south pole, where they will spend about a week searching for signs of water. If the precious liquid is found, it could be used to help power rockets on their way to Mars.

This would mean that permanent human settlements would need to be built to support mining and scientific activities.

“It’s the first step we’re taking for long-term deep space exploration, not just for the United States but for the world,” Hu told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg.