Yang Gao does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has d

Trump may cancel Nasa’s powerful SLS Moon rocket – here’s what that would mean for Elon Musk and the future of space travel

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2024-12-02 21:00:03

Yang Gao does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Since Donald Trump’s recent electoral victory, rumours and speculation have circulated that Nasa’s giant Moon rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS), could be under threat. The rocket is one of several key elements needed for the US space agency’s Artemis programme, which aims to return humans to the Moon for the first time since 1972.

For the first lunar landing mission, called Artemis III, the SLS will launch four astronauts on Nasa’s Orion crew capsule. Orion will then travel to the Moon. Once in lunar orbit, Orion will dock with Elon Musk’s Starship vehicle (which has been launched separately). Two astronauts will float into Starship, which undocks from Orion and travels down to the lunar surface.

After walking on the Moon, the two astronauts return to lunar orbit in Starship, which docks with Orion. The two moonwalkers rejoin their crewmates and go home on Orion, leaving Starship in orbit around the Moon.