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AWhen we went with Apollo, we brought everything on one
launch. It took a lot of energy to
get down to the surface. We counted in hours the amount of time
that the crew actually spent on the
surface.
What we’re doing differently this
time is we’re putting a permanent
presence in orbit and then finding
ways to utilize assets out there. For
a long time, we thought the moon
was really dry. But about a decade
ago, a surface probe confirmed that
there is water ice on the moon,
especially at the poles and in areas
that are in constant shadow. Knowing
that there are these resources on the
moon is huge because launching things
off of Earth is expensive. If we can find
a way to start tapping some of these
resources, then we can use that to refuel
pieces of our architecture, which really
sets up a new logistics node for us to
drive farther and farther out.
QYou mentioned a need for logistics. What role can our logistics and
supply chain community play in helping you fulfill this mission?
AIt is important for us to constantly drive ways to push research and
development (R&D) in space that
could have applications here on Earth.
For a long time, NASA has essentially been the R&D leg of the government. We take taxpayer dollars and
invest them in areas where we want
to advance technology beyond what
we think is possible. We are good at
that. But we also need help. We need
to find ways to partner with industry
to understand use cases down here
on Earth and how we can drive that
technology development out in deep
space.
QSo, this is a different approach from the 1960s, when the government
and NASA did most of the development
and industry just followed behind?
AYes. In the ’60s, the government was definitely in the driver’s seat
and was driving design as well. Our
logistics element now is unique because
we are not saying how we want industry to do the work out there—we are
simply stating what we need. We are
opening it up so that we can find ways
to really help each other.
QNASA was famous for producing innovations during the Apollo program. Are you looking to see the same
kind of outgrowth from Artemis?
AWe know that will happen. We are really good at solving technical challenges. I think we are definitely motivated by finding unique
solutions to things that people hadn’t
really thought of as a problem yet. We
