The landing of American astronauts on the Moon in 2024 is impossible, since the spacesuits are not ready for them. This became known on August 10 from the report of the office of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA.
"NASA's current schedule is to prepare xEMU flight-ready [spacesuits] by November 2024, but the agency faces serious obstacles in achieving this goal. This schedule now includes a delay of about 20 months due to the planned development, verification and testing of spacesuits. < ... > The spacesuits will not be ready for flight until at least April 2025, " the report of the NASA Inspector General's office says.
On April 16, NASA announced that the contract for sending astronauts to the Moon in 2024 was awarded to the company SpaceX. It is noted that the contract amount is $2.89 billion. According to him, the company should develop the first commercial lander that will safely deliver two American astronauts to the surface of the Moon.
NASA explained its decision with limited funds and the fact that Musk's offer was the most profitable. According to CNBC, Blue Origin estimated its services at $5.9 billion, and Dynetics-at $8.5 billion.
Earlier in February, NASA awarded Firefly Aerospace a contract to deliver equipment for scientific research to the Moon. The contract was signed as part of an initiative to deliver scientific and technical equipment to the Moon by private partners of NASA, which is part of the Artemis program.
NASA's lunar program "Artemis" provides for three flights to the moon. The first stage is planned in 2021, the second-in 2023. During the third one, it is planned to land people on the Moon using the Orion spacecraft.
