00:03Pleasant greetings on the final day of the month celebrating women.
00:06Ayes Martinez here, homegrown and pleased to bring you PTV News Now,
00:11among the top stories people are talking about right now.
00:14After presenting its proposed guidelines for its joint carpooling initiative in the megacity to kick off next week,
00:20the Land Transportation Franchising Regulatory Board is expected to release shortly the special permits needed
00:26for companies or persons wishing to sign up for this interim carpooling scheme that tentatively begins next Monday.
00:34Interested parties seeking to register their vehicles for the program and acquire the special permits
00:39must head to the LTF-RB office and submit the following.
00:43A proposed travel plan or point-to-point route, a pre-selected passenger list or manifest,
00:49make and model a carpool vehicle, ownership and registration papers, transport contract or payment method,
00:55For the PTV shuttle service, those in the program must follow the letter,
01:00the approved service route or point-of-origin and point-of-destination route,
01:04in two scheduled trips, in the morning and in the afternoon and or evening.
01:09There should be no roadside pick-ups or drop-offs and intermediate stops.
01:14Application for the special permit will likely commence tomorrow
01:17and step to the program's kick-off set for Monday next week.
01:23After over a half-century, NASA's American Space Agency will be sending a 10-day lunar mission
01:29of four astronauts around the Moon to restore and maintain American lunar presence
01:35and superiority in exploration and discovery,
01:38dubbed the Artemis II mission in contrast to the Apollo missions of the mid-60s and early-70s.
01:44The liftoff is scheduled for April 1st at 6.24 p.m. Eastern or on April 1st, 6.24 a
01:52.m. Manila time,
01:53a launch pad in Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
01:57Let's rewind to when NASA decided to push the set-off to tomorrow's in this report from VOA's Kenny Farrowborough.
02:06NASA Administrator Bill Nelson began his early December update on the U.S. Space Agency's efforts
02:12to return astronauts to the Moon by emphasizing the complexity of the Artemis mission.
02:18It's the most daring, technologically challenging, collaborative, international endeavor
02:26that humanity has ever set out to do.
02:33Artemis I, NASA's first step in returning to the Moon, was an unmanned test flight in late 2022.
02:39Splashdown.
02:40When Artemis I's Orion spacecraft returned through Earth's atmosphere,
02:44NASA staff noticed issues with the capsule's heat shield,
02:48meant to protect astronauts inside during the dangerous re-entry.
02:51Throwing the reliability of the spacecraft and the future of Artemis in doubt.
02:57Heat accumulated inside the heat shield's outer layer.
03:01NASA Deputy Administrator and former astronaut Pam Melroy says NASA's subsequent study of the problem
03:07found a fix, ensuring the Orion spacecraft will fly future missions.
03:12Our team did identify the correct root cause of the Artemis heat shield issue.
03:17The first crewed moon mission, Artemis II, was initially scheduled for late 2025
03:22and would orbit but not land on the surface of the Moon.
03:25Fixing heat shield issues and the re-entry trajectory of the Orion spacecraft
03:30is now forcing NASA to push Artemis II's launch date to April 2026.
03:36Artemis III, which plans to land astronauts near the lunar south pole,
03:40is now scheduled for mid-2027.
03:43The safety of our astronauts is always first in our decisions.
03:50NASA Administrator Nelson underscored the geopolitical importance of ensuring the Artemis program
03:55can safely and reliably transport astronauts to the Moon
03:59before China plans to land people on the lunar surface by 2030.
04:03It's important in an area where we think there is such promise,
04:08the South Pole, primarily because of the presence of water,
04:12that we establish our presence there so that China would not be there and say, keep out.
04:23Nelson also justified decisions to adjust the Artemis timeline
04:27despite a change in the presidential administration in January
04:30that could lead to further adjustments,
04:32noting the rockets for Artemis II are already being prepared for launch.
04:36The life of the solid rocket boosters has a certain defined life.
04:44So we needed to get this thing going so we can stay on this timeline.
04:50When Artemis II does launch, it could make history by sending the first woman
04:54and the first person of color around the Moon.
04:56Future Artemis missions will increasingly incorporate equipment
04:59from commercial companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin.
05:03Kane Fairbaugh, VOA News.
05:08So we've come to the end of tonight's show.
05:10Join us anew tomorrow for another set of stories here and elsewhere
05:14still breaking at the hour.
05:15And always stay connected by catching the news right here.
05:18This is Ice Martinez wishing you all a cool and restful night ahead.
05:22And thank you for watching PTV News Now.
05:24PTV News Now.
05:25PTV News Now.
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