NASA’s Boss Just Shook Up the Agency’s Plans to Land on the Moon
Duffy also cites “maybe others” getting involved. This refers to a third option. In recent weeks, officials from traditional space companies have been telling Duffy and the chief of staff at the Department of Transportation, Pete Meachum, that they can build an Apollo Lunar Module–like lander within 30 months. Amit Kshatriya, NASA’s associate administrator, favors this government-led approach, sources said. On Monday, in a statement to Ars, a Lockheed Martin official confirmed that the company was ready if NASA called upon them. “Throughout this year, Lockheed Martin has been performing significant technical and programmatic analysis for human lunar landers that would provide options to NASA for a safe solution to return humans to the moon as quickly as possible,” said Bob Behnken, vice president of exploration and technology strategy at Lockheed Martin Space.