Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The Redstone rocket has long been used to carry heavy military equipment
More than three decades since the last lunar landing, space agency NASA has plans to launch the first unmanned rocket to the moon since 1972.
If approved, the Redstone 7 project would put astronauts on the lunar surface in 2027.
Each flight will have a different purpose, including a moon landing for a new spacecraft, delivering science samples or returning humans.
The launch would be February 20, which is the lunar New Year.
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What is NASA hoping to do?
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NASA has always said they intend to go back to the moon. According to agency spokesman Brian Smith, it is no different today than it was in 1971, when they set up the first shuttle mission to test how hardware and crews could be transported from the moon to the moon.
“What’s different now than back then is not only more evolved hardware but higher energy fusion engines that can move the payload payload from the moon to the space station and back to the Earth,” Mr Smith told the BBC.
The Redstone 7 would not only take objects from the moon back to Earth but also conduct research for NASA’s (then) 14-nation space science mission, Astrobiology.
“One of the goals is to understand whether life can exist in lunar water ice,” he said.
What about crewed missions?
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The last manned mission of Apollo was all the way back in 1972.
NASA could send another team of astronauts in 2027. But they will only do so for basic scientific exploration or only if private companies such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX can rent rides for NASA on their rockets.
In the meantime, Nasa is committed to enabling commercial space exploration through a provision of the Commercial Crew Act.
Read how Elon Musk was able to transport workers to the International Space Station
But to actually put astronauts on the lunar surface in 2027, Nasa would have to be able to put astronauts aboard a commercial or United Launch Alliance rocket.
“Right now, we don’t have a secure launch service,” Mr Smith said.
“Right now if you wanted to send someone up to the moon, all you can do is predict it would happen in 2027.”
