OKLAHOMA CITY — Congressional leaders want to give NASA four extra years to return to the moon, reversing a fast-track deadline laid out by President Donald Trump and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine.
The NASA authorization bill introduced by Oklahoma City Congresswoman Kendra Horn would extend the goal for Earth’s next crewed mission to the lunar surface, this time by 2028.
The Trump administration announced last year that it wanted to speed up plans to return humans to the moon with the Artemis program. Trump wanted the Artemis mission to land on the moon by 2024, four years earlier than originally scheduled.
The decision to accelerate was a political calculation, Bridenstine told The Oklahoman last year. Previous attempts to organize deep-space missions failed because they ran into delays and cost overruns, he said.