NASA chief steps down after Joe Biden assumes office

As US President Joe Biden assumed office on Wednesday, American space agency NASA's chief Jim Bridenstine has officially stepped down from his role as the administrator. As per reports, Biden is expected to pick a woman the fill the role, which has been occupied by men since the agency's founding in 1958.

"It has been my great honour to serve as your @NASA Administrator. I will miss the amazing NASA family and will forever be grateful for my time at this incredible agency. Ad astra," Bridenstine said in a tweet on Wednesday.

Bridenstine, a Republican who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, spent his final days as the NASA chief making the last push for ambitious Artemis programme, that will land the first woman and next man on the lunar surface by 2024.

"We have done everything we can to build the consensus necessary for this program to be long-term sustainable," Bridenstine told The Verge.

"I think as hard as we've worked to build the consensus over the last three years, I think we're in good shape," he added.

It may be noted that out of the $3.3 billion NASA said it needed for next year's budget to stay on track for 2024, Congress came up with $850 million.

The $850 million budget marks the first time Congress agreed to fund a human lunar lander since the Apollo programme.

"With that I say farewell. And I'll tell ya, when a new team comes in, give them all your support. Because they need it, they deserve it, and of course what we're trying to do, we're not only crossing multiple administrations, but multi-decade and multigenerational," Bridenstine said.

Last week, a key rocket test for NASA's much-delayed Space Launch System (SLS) ended in an early shutdown as four rocket engines fired for a little over a minute, while these were supposed to be up for nearly eight minutes.

The SLS is set to play a key role in the agency's Artemis programme which aims to return astronauts to the Moon.

NASA's Artemis I mission is an uncrewed flight test that will launch Orion on the agency's Space Launch System rocket to orbit the Moon and return to Earth.

On Artemis II, Orion will carry a crew of astronauts around the Moon and back, and Artemis III will land the first woman and next man on the lunar surface by 2024.

Subsequent missions will explore more of the Moon and test the technologies and procedures needed for human exploration of Mars.

(With IANS inputs)