Ex-NASA admin reveals why we waited 50 years to revisit the Moon
Bridenstine made it clear that the delay was not due to a lack of technology
With all the conspiracy theories about whether the moon landing was real or fake, Jim Bridenstine, a former NASA administrator, revealed the real reason it took astronauts 50 years to return to the moon. He made it clear that the delay is due to political risks, not a lack of technology. As per Indy100, back in 2018, Bridenstine spoke to reporters and clarified, "If it wasn't for the political risk, we would be on the moon right now."
He added that they could have achieved more, "In fact, we would probably be on Mars. It was the political risks that prevented it from happening." The last man to set foot on the moon was NASA's former Apollo 17 commander, Eugene Cernan. This was more than five decades ago, back in 1972. Bridenstine also mentioned that the program was expensive and it took a long time to plan.
According to the Royal Museums Greenwich, the government had estimated the cost to be around $7 billion, but at the end of the mission, the total cost came up to $20 billion. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson spoke to reporters after Artemis I was launched in 2022, saying the mission was "extraordinarily successful" and that NASA was careful to track the mission in detail, making sure their crew was safe.
54 years later, NASA sent its first crew mission on the Orion spacecraft for the Artemis II mission. The crew consists of four astronauts, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, as well as Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. The crew took off on April 1 and is now on a "free return trajectory," as per CNN. While the Artemis II crew will not be landing on the moon, they are on a 10-day mission to orbit the moon. The purpose of the mission is to prepare for the launch of Artemis 4 in 2028, which will be the first crewed Moon landing since Apollo 17's landing in 1972. The crew is testing the Orion spacecraft, checking how well it functions, and collecting data for more Moon missions.
Artemis 2 astronaut Victor Glover delivers inspiring Easter message on the way to the moon
— DenvilleCommunity (@iDenville) April 5, 2026
"This is an opportunity for us to remember where we are, who we are, and that we are the same thing, and that we've gotta get through this together."
God bless Artemis crew. Return home… pic.twitter.com/5OQhSHBhft
NASA revealed that the crew and the spaceship will travel a total of 695,081 miles from the beginning of their mission (launch) to splashdown. It will be 4,600 miles away from the surface of the moon and will travel a maximum distance of 253,757 miles away from the Earth. The Orion spacecraft will travel further than Apollo 13. Bridenstine said that the plan was to stay on the Moon, the next time astronauts take a trip to space. NASA started the Artemis program in 2017 with this purpose in mind. In his words, "This time when we go to the Moon, we're going to stay. That's what we're looking to do."
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