Nasa to build base on the moon BEFORE HS2 is finished

Nasa is set to build an operational base on the moon before high speed railway HS2 is completed, it has been revealed.

The groundbreaking project will see scouting missions to the lunar South Pole region, testing technologies and preparing for surface operations - assembling semi-permanent infrastructure for early habitation by 2029.

In stark contrast, the HS2 high speed railway between London and Birmingham isn't expected to see its first services until between 2036 and 2039 - while the full services won't be open until between 2040 and 2043.

The near-decade difference on the timeline of the projects has fueled criticism of delays to HS2 - a project that ought to be much more attainable than Nasa's efforts.

Lichfield MP Dave Robertson said the delay of the project was "a bitter pill to swallow", describing the scale of failings over more than a decade and a half as "staggering".

He said: "The ballooning budgets and over runs that have become so commonplace under previous governments should never have been allowed to happen."

Solihull MP Saqib Bhatti added: "Communities in Balsall Common and Berkswell have long suffered from the devastation caused by HS2.

"I now just want them to get on with it and leave villages in my constituency alone."

The expected cost of delivering HS2 is now in the range of £87.7 to 102.7billion, with the railway set to stretch from London Euston to Birmingham Curzon Street, and to the connection to the West Coast Main Line at Handsacre Junction.

CEO of the project, Mark Wild, conceded construction started too soon in 2020 without completed designs, which created significant inefficiencies.

He also attributed complications to contracts awarded for construction failling to drive performance, and that HS2 Ltd "was not set up to effectively manage delivery of the project".

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Meanwhile, Nasa is making striking progress on its moonbase initiative, with the agency's chief, Jared Isaacman, saying: "America returns to the moon again and this time to stay."

In an update yesterday, the agency said it envisions a base spanning "hundreds of square miles", the size of a large city, with different parts of the base located on different kinds of terrain.

Ultimately, the goal is to create several lunar outposts, Mr Isaacman said, using the moon base as part of long term plans to reach Mars.

"Really, it is to have an environment where we can work with the water, ice and master the skills for where we go next, which is Mars," Mr Isaacman added.

He hopes the base will inspire the next generation to "plant the stars and stripes on Mars someday".

Nasa also announced the first major procurement decisions, that is, which companies will produce the assets for the moon landing and construction phase.

The first award went to Blue Origin, the company of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, which will build one of the landers.

Relying on multiple vehicle and asset models should "help spur a full-fledged lunar economy", the NASA chief said.

While previous moon landings were mass televised spectacles, Nasa promises to trump that, providing updates "with impressive detail".

The space agency has now launched a website that will become the central hub for all communications and updates around the mission.

"Just like in decades past", the idea is to "take the world along with us" as astronauts return to the moon, Mr Isaacman said.