Humans could be living on the Moon by 2030

We could see man living and working on the moon for "durations" before the end of the decade, a NASA official has said.

This prediction comes amid the successful launch of the 98-metre (322ft) Artemis 1 rocket from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on Wednesday, after a previous number of failed attempts.

In its first uncrewed mission, the rocket contains three fully suited mannequins in order to understand how the human body is impacted by the flight during the 25-days that will see the rocket travel 1.3m miles and is anticipated to splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego in December.

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Howard Hu, the head of the Orion lunar spacecraft programme described the launch as a "historic day for human space flight".

“It’s the first step we’re taking to long-term deep-space exploration, for not just the United States but for the world. I think this is a historic day for Nasa, but it’s also a historic day for all the people who love human space flight and deep-space exploration,” Hu told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.

"We are going back to the Moon, we're working towards a sustainable programme and this is the vehicle that will carry the people that will land us back on the Moon again."

Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., Lunar Module Pilot, Is Photographed Walking Near The Lunar Module During The Apollo 11 Extravehicular Activity. Man's First Landing On The Moon Occurred Today At 4:17 P.M. July 20, 1969 Photo By Nasa/Getty Images

Humans could live on this moon "for durations" near the end of this decade with habitats and rovers to aid this mission.

“Certainly, in this decade, we are going to have people living for durations, depending on how long we will be on the surface. They will have habitats, they will have rovers on the ground,” he added.

“We are going to be sending people down to the surface, and they are going to be living on that surface and doing science,” he added.

If this mission is deemed a success then further launches of Artemis 2 and 3 flights could send actual humans up to the moon and back - though this may not take place until 2026.

The Artemis programme is named after the Greek Goddess of the moon who is sister to Apollo - the name of the NASA programme that succeeded in landing the first humans on the Moon between 1968-72.

Under the programme, there are plans to construct a new space station called the Lunar Gateway where astronauts will live and work.

Hu also noted how missions to the moon would help with their goal of eventually sending humans to Mars.

“Moving forward is really to Mars,” he said. “That is a bigger stepping stone, a two-year journey, so it’s going to be really important to learn beyond our Earth orbit.”

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