This archive report was first published on 22 October 2019.
Published on October 22, 2019, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine emphasized the importance of international cooperation in the US space agency's plans for a historic Moon mission.
Speaking at the 70th International Astronautical Congress in Washington, Bridenstine stated, "I think there's lots of room on the Moon, and we need all our international partners to go with us to the Moon."
He added, "If we can come to agreements on the contributions of all the nations and how they're going to be a part of the architecture, then certainly I would see that there'd be no reason we can't have all of our international partners with us on the Moon."
The US plans to develop a spacecraft (Orion) and a mini space station (Gateway) that will remain in lunar orbit, with a first crewed mission, Artemis 3, scheduled for 2024.
However, only one element of the mission, the Orion service module, will be produced outside the US, with the European Space Agency (ESA) delivering it.
Jan Worner, head of the ESA, expressed the agency's intention to have European astronauts on the Moon's surface, stating, "We are in discussion also with NASA, so that we have European astronauts on the surface of the Moon -- this is of course the European intention."
Worner later clarified that Europeans may not be able to join the mission until 2027 or 2028, saying, "2024 is for sure something which is purely American."
Japan also aims to participate in the mission, with Hiroshi Yamakawa, president of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, stating, "It's a very simple question to me because JAXA would like to send Japanese astronauts to the surface of the Moon."
