2006-08-25 | TECHNOLOGIES
NASA Announces Contractor for Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle
NASA will hold a press conference on Thursday, August 31, to announce the prime contractor chosen to design, develop and build Orion, the agency's next human spacecraft. The press conference will air live on the web and on NASA TV.
Orion is the vehicle NASA is developing to carry a new generation of explorers back to the moon and later to Mars. Orion will succeed the space shuttle as NASA's primary vehicle for human space exploration.
Orion will transport up to six crew members to and from the International Space Station and up to four to and from the moon. NASA's new initiative to send humans back to the Moon will provide a number of opportunities for performing research important to astrobiology. Simply by travelling in space, astronauts can tell us a great deal about the potential future for life beyond our planet. Researchers on the surface of the Moon can help answer questions about the history and evolution of the Moon itself, which can in turn help us understand the history and evolution of our own planet.
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from NASA, Aug 25, 2006
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