Moon mission a step forward to reach Mars: NASA chief
Washington, May 10: NASA's new head, Jim Bridenstine, has defended the new agency directive to return astronauts to the Moon, saying that the mission will not derail the US goal of becoming the first country to put humans on Mars.
"Our return to the surface of the Moon will allow us to prove and advance technologies that will...(enable) us to land the first Americans on the Red Planet," the NASA Administrator said on Wednesday during his keynote address at the "Humans to Mars" summit in Washington, DC.
US President Donald Trump in December 2017 signed a change in national space policy that provides for a US-led integrated programme with private sector partners for a human return to the Moon, followed by missions to Mars and beyond.
The policy calls for the NASA administrator to "lead an innovative and sustainable programme of exploration with commercial and international partners to enable human expansion across the solar system and to bring back to Earth new knowledge and opportunities".
In his first major address as NASA administrator, Bridenstine, however, did not disclose any new initiatives by NASA to send humans to the Red Planet, Space.com reported.
Mars and the moon will be complementary initiatives, said Bridenstine, who was sworn in as administrator three weeks ago after NASA went 15 months without a permanent leader.
"If some of you are concerned that the coming focus is the moon, don't be," Bridenstine said.
"We're doing both the Moon and Mars in tandem, and the missions are supportive of each other," he added.
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Putin in close contact with Gulf leaders to facilitate de-escalation: Kremlin
Moscow (PTI): Russian President Vladimir Putin is making all possible efforts to de-escalate the crisis in the Gulf and is in close contact with the regional leaders as Iran is retaliating with massive strikes on the US facilities and infrastructure on their territories, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.
The US and Israel launched joint strikes against Iran on Saturday, assassinating 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, alongside family members, including his daughter and grandchildren. Since then, Iran has targeted multiple US bases in the surrounding Gulf States.
"Putin will certainly make every effort to facilitate at least a minor easing of tensions. In this regard, we discussed with virtually all of our interlocutors yesterday," the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
"Taking advantage of the dialogue we maintain with the Iranian leadership, (President) Putin will convey his deep concern regarding the strikes on their infrastructure to our colleagues in Iran," he added.
According to the Kremlin, Putin spoke by telephone with leaders of Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia.
In his telephonic conversation with Crown Prince and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, Putin discussed the escalating situation in the region as a result of the American-Israeli armed aggression against Iran.
“Both sides expressed serious concern over the real risks of escalation of the conflict, which has already affected several Arab countries and is fraught with catastrophic consequences. In this context, Vladimir Putin underscored the urgent need to resolve the current extremely dangerous situation through political and diplomatic means,” the Kremlin said.
On Monday, Putin also had telephonic contacts with the King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, who currently chairs the Gulf Cooperation Council, Emir of the State of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
“Exchange of views was held regarding the unprecedented escalation around Iran as a result of US and Israeli aggression, which is bringing the entire region to the brink of a full-scale war with unpredictable consequences. Sides underscored the need for a swift cessation of hostilities to prevent the situation from spiralling completely out of control and to return it to a political and diplomatic framework,” the Kremlin said.
The current developments, in particular, threaten the security of many Arab states with which Russia maintains friendly relations.
Given this, President Putin reaffirmed Russia's readiness to use all available means to actively contribute to stabilising the situation in the region, the Kremlin said, adding that contacts with the Gulf leaders will continue.
