US to Land Astronaut on Moon by End of Decade: Kamala Harris

US plans to land an international astronaut on the surface of the Moon by the end of the decade, announced US Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday during a meeting of the National Space Council (NSC).

According to Harris, this astronaut will be sent as part of NASA’s Artemis programme, reported space.com.  Earlier it was declared that astronauts will fly around the Moon in spacecraft.

The recent announcement of Harris confirms that one of these astronauts will step onto the lunar surface.

CNN said the Artemis mission will carry four astronauts but only will be allowed to descend to the surface of the Moon.

But Harris did not provide any details regarding the nationality of the astronaut, who will land on the moon.

The Artemis 2 mission will take off in 2024. This will be followed by the surface mission, Artemis 3, which will put astronauts down near the lunar South Pole, in 2025 or 2026. It will be followed by Artemis 4 and Artemis 5 in 2028 and 2029, said space.com report.