Nasa picks headquarters for Moon lander

[nitpicker]

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-49381622

Nasa picks headquarters for Moon lander

By Paul Rincon
Science editor, BBC News website

17 August 2019

A Nasa facility in Alabama that developed the giant rocket for the Apollo programme in the 1960s will play a key role in sending astronauts down to the Moon's surface in 2024.

The Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville will lead the development of a vehicle that will land astronauts on the body for the first time since 1972.

The decision was announced by Nasa's administrator Jim Bridenstine.

But it's a disappointment for Texas, which was in the running.

The White House wants to send a man and a woman to the South Pole of the Moon in five years, under a programme called Artemis.
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Mr Bridenstine made the announcement at the Marshall facility in front of a test version of the 45m- (149ft-) tall hydrogen tank for the Space Launch System rocket, which will launch the astronauts on their journey from Earth in 2024.

"This was not a decision that was made lightly. A lot of hard work has been done here in Huntsville over well over 10 years now regarding landing systems," Mr Bridenstine said on Friday.

But not everyone will be happy about the decision. Before the formal announcement, Texas legislators including Senator Ted Cruz had written an open letter to Mr Bridenstine pushing for Nasa's Johnson Space Center, based in Houston, Texas, to lead the lander development.
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