随着美国迎来阿波罗11号历史性登月50周年，美国宇航局局长吉姆·布赖登斯廷称，如果不是因为“政治风险”，人们很可能已经冒险登上火星。
布里登斯汀出现在哥伦比亚广播公司面向国家周日讨论美国国家航空航天局的太空探索计划，包括在未来几年重返月球和火星。
这位管理人员还阐明了他认为是什么原因导致太空计划在美国国家航空航天局里程碑式的登月任务后的许多年里被阻止返回月球和载人登陆火星。自1972年12月阿波罗17号机组人员返回地球后，没有人登上过月球表面。
“有两种风险。存在技术风险和政治风险。如果不是因为政治风险，我们现在就在月球上。坦率地说，如果没有政治风险，我们现在可能已经在火星上了，”布里登斯坦说，并补充说太空计划的资金也是一个问题。
“在过去，在20世纪90年代和21世纪初，我们努力重返月球和火星，而在每种情况下，这个项目都太长了。这花了太长时间和太多钱，”他继续说。“总统说什么，为了化解政治风险，我们要走得更快。我们想在五年内离开。副总统在国家航天委员会发表了一个信息，他说我们想在五年内重返月球。然后，他们修改了总统的预算要求，给予我们必要的资源，使之成为现实，这就是我们的现状。”
尽管唐纳德·特朗普总统最近猛烈抨击了美国宇航局重返月球的愿望——在推特上的一条信息中，奥巴马总统表示，该部门应该集中精力将人们送往火星——但布里登斯坦坚持认为，这位前房地产大亨和美国宇航局现在在任务日程上意见一致。他还透露了特朗普在红色星球上挂上美国国旗的目标。
“在那条推特之后，我和他谈过了。我想确定我们是一致的——绝对一致。他明白，事实上，他对我说，“我知道我们必须登上月球才能到达火星，”但他说，“那一代人的成就会激励所有美国人吗？它在火星上挂了一面美国国旗。”他说，“确保你忠于火星上的旗帜，”布里登斯汀说。
美国国家航空航天局在4月宣布了阿尔特弥斯计划，并分享了在未来5年内将人类送上月球的计划，希望到2028年在月球上和月球周围建立持续的人类存在。布里登斯汀反复提到了时间表，并指出美国宇航局承诺确保在即将到来的任务中有女性代表，并声称在月球上迈出的第一步很可能是由女性完成的。
“我们想可持续地重返月球，换句话说，就是留下来，但我们也想关注特朗普总统的目标是什么。他的愿景是什么？他想在火星上挂一面美国国旗。所以我们去了月球，这样我们就可以学习如何在另一个世界生活和工作，最终比以往任何时候都有更多机会接触太阳系，这样我们就可以——不是开玩笑——去火星了，”布里登斯汀说。“但以下是我认为阿尔特弥斯最重要的部分，特别是在20世纪60年代，我们热爱阿波罗。这是一个多么惊人的项目，大国之间的竞争，美利坚合众国在冷战中，当然，我们名列前茅。但我认为重要的是，在那些日子里，我们所有的宇航员都来自试飞员和战斗机飞行员，没有女性的机会。如今，在阿尔特弥斯项目下，我们有一个非常多样化的高素质宇航员核心，其中包括女性，希腊神话中的阿尔特弥斯恰好是阿波罗的孪生姐妹。”
他补充道:“所以现在当我们回到月球时，我们和整个美国一起去，我认为这是一个很好的信息。”
在月球和火星任务开始之前，美国宇航局将在7月20日阿波罗登月50周年之际，派遣宇航员安德鲁·摩根和一批多国太空旅行者前往国际空间站。
美国宇航局InSight宇宙飞船于2018年5月5日从加州范登堡空军基地搭载联合发射联盟阿特拉斯-V火箭发射。罗宾·贝克/法新社/盖蒂图片社
NASA ADMINISTRATOR SAYS AMERICANS WOULD 'BE ON MARS TODAY HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR POLITICAL RISK'
As the nation approaches the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11's historic landing on the moon, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine claimed people would likely already have ventured to Mars by this point if it had not been for "political risks."
Bridenstine appeared on CBS' Face The Nation Sunday to discuss NASA's schedule for space exploration, which includes going back to the moon and then to Mars within the coming years.
The administrator also shed light on what he believed were the reasons the space program had been prevented from returning to the moon and landing people on Mars in the many years since NASA's landmark moon missions. No human has stepped foot on the moon's surface since December 1972, when the crew of Apollo 17 departed on their return to Earth.
"There's two risks. There's technical risk and there's political risk. We would be on the moon right now if it weren't for the political risk. We would be on Mars, quite frankly, by now had it not been for the political risk," Bridenstine said, adding that funding for the space program was also an issue.
"In the past, in the 1990s and in the early 2000s we made efforts to go back to the moon and on to Mars, and in each case, the program was too long. It took too long and too much money," he continued. "What the president said, in order to retire the political risk, we want to go faster. We want to go within five years. The vice president delivered a message at the National Space Council and he said we want to go back to the moon within five years. Then they amended the president's budget request to give us the resources necessary to make it a reality and that's where we are."
Although President Donald Trump recently slammed NASA's desires to return to the moon—in a message on Twitter the president said the department should be focusing their efforts on sending people to Mars—Bridenstine insisted that the former real estate mogul and NASA were now on the same page regarding mission schedules. He also revealed Trump's goal of putting an American flag on the Red Planet.
"I talked to him after that tweet. I wanted to make sure we were in alignment—we absolutely are. He understands, and in fact, he said to me, 'I know we gotta go to the moon to get to Mars,' but he said, 'What is that generational achievement that will inspire all of Americans? It's putting an American flag on Mars.' He said, 'Make sure you're committed to the flag on Mars," Bridenstine said.
NASA in April announced the Artemis program and shared plans to send humans to the moon within the next five years with hopes of establishing a sustained human presence on and around the moon by 2028. Bridenstine harped on the timeline and noted NASA's commitment to making sure women were represented in the upcoming missions and claimed the first steps on the moon would likely be made by a woman.
"We want to go back to the moon sustainably, in other words, to stay, but we also want to keep our eye on what is President Trump's goal. What is his vision? He wants to put an American flag on Mars. So we go to the moon so we can learn how to live and work in another world and ultimately have more access to the solar system than ever before so we can get—no kidding—to Mars," Bridenstine said. "But here's what I think is the important part about Artemis specifically, in the 1960s we love Apollo. What an amazing program, contest of great powers, the United States of America in the Cold War and, of course, we came out on top. But I think the important thing is, in those days all of our astronauts came from test pilots and fighter pilots and there were no opportunities for women. Today under the Artemis program we have a very diverse highly qualified astronaut core that includes women, and Artemis in Greek mythology happens to be the twin sister of Apollo."
He added: "So now when we go back to the moon we go with all of America, and I think that's a great message."
Before moon and Mars missions are underway, NASA will send astronaut Andrew Morgan and a multinational crew of space travelers to the International Space Station on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing on July 20.
The NASA InSight spacecraft launches onboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas-V rocket on May 5, 2018, from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.ROBYN BECK/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
