Nasa is ‘running out of astronauts’ with THIRD of subscribers compared to 20 years ago

NASA is running out of astronauts and more will be needed to complete all of its space missions, according to a new report.

United States Space Agency’s Office of the Inspector General disclosure that the astronaut division is stretched as thin as the 1970s.

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Nasa has only 44 astronauts as of 2022.

In 2000, it peaked with 150 astronauts.

With nations all over the world in a space race to explore the Moon, it doesn’t seem like the ideal time to have few senders.

Nasa has several ambitious missions coming up including the Artemis Mission, which aims to send a man and woman to the Moon by 2024.

It expressed concern about the staff shortage in a new report.

It states: “The agency may not have an adequate number of additional astronauts ready for unforeseen attrition and crew appointments or ground-based roles such as participating in program development , appoints staff to lead the Astronaut Office and liaison positions, and serves as spokesperson for the Agency.

“Due to the ever-expanding spaceflight opportunities predicted for Artemis missions, the corps may be at risk of being derailed in the future, resulting in interrupted crew reorganization or missions. delayed service.”

Nasa lost about 10 astronauts a year from 2004 to 2012.

Some of this is due to retired and unreplaced astronauts as well as largely discontinuing Space Shuttle missions.

“As Nasa enters a new era of human spaceflight, including returning to the Moon and eventually sending humans to Mars, it’s up to the efficient management of its legion of astronauts,” Nasa said. — those performing its spaceflight missions — are critical to the Agency’s success.”

When it comes to looking for more crew, the agency will have to factor in budget and training time.

It can take up to two years of training to become a qualified astronaut.

In other news, China has built an ‘artificial moon’ to train astronauts for future missions.

ONE Rugby ball planet has been detected outside our Solar System and scientists call it a distortion.

And, Nasa thought James Webb . Space Telescope likely to be hit by falling space debris.