NASA’s Orion will be the first manned spacecraft to fly to the Moon since the end the historic Apollo programme in 1972. Under the guise of Artemis – Apollo’s twin sister – NASA will return man and send the first woman to the Moon in more than 50 years. Aerospace and defence contractor Lockheed Martin was tasked with constructing between six and 12 of the Orion spacecraft. The contract, NASA said, will support the space agency’s goal of landing on the Moon by 2024.

The deal between NASA and Lockheed Martin was praised by Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas. He said: “This is a great day for the men and women at Johnson Space Center. “They are crucial to our national space program and have an undeniable legacy and record of success in advancing America’s leadership in the human exploration of space. “I am pleased that Administrator Bridenstine has heeded my calls and is taking significant steps to ensure that Johnson continues to grow with the exciting future of manned exploration that lies ahead. READ MORE: Elon Musk tweets first look at Starship Rocket

NASA news: The space agency has ordered six to 12 Orion spacecraft

NASA news: The Orion spacecraft will support astronauts for up to three weeks at a time

“More needs to be done and I look forward to production ramping up in the weeks and months to come and to more opportunities with NASA.”

Orion is a highly-capable, state-of-the-art spacecraft Jim Bridenstine, NASA Administrator

The Orion contract came with a hefty price tag of £2.1billion ($2.7billion) for Artemis mission III through to IV. NASA will then order three additional Orion capsules in the fiscal year 2022 to device Artemis VI through to VIII for another £1.5billion ($1.9billion). US Vice President Mike Pence also congratulated the space agency on the deal. READ MORE: Space war: British force 'necessary' to protect UK assets in 'warfighting domain'

He said in a tweet: “Congratulations to @NASA on this important step for @NASA_Orion, moving us closer to achieving the goal of returning American astronauts to the Moon by 2024!” NASA’s Orion spacecraft is touted as a multi-purpose manned crew vehicle capable of taking “humans farther than they’ve ever gone before”. The spacecraft is designed to ferry humans to deep space destinations “a thousand times farther than the International Space Station”. Orion will carry NASA astronauts to the Moon and to the Lunar Gateway – a planned space station but in lunar orbit. The spacecraft has to protect astronauts for up to three weeks at a time, offering the life support systems necessary to survive in space. READ MORE: How ‘inspiring' Apollo 11 motivated Elon Musk to create SpaceX

NASA news: Orion will be the first manned spacecraft to the Moon since NASA's Apollo 17

NASA news: The Orion is being built by Lockheed Martin

Compared to the Apollo-era command module capsules, the Orion will come equipped with a whole range of modern amenities. The spacecraft will feature a bathroom for long voyages and exercising equipment to fight back the effects of muscle loss in zero-gravity environments. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said: “This contract secures Orion production through the next decade, demonstrating NASA’s commitment to establishing a sustainable presence at the Moon to bring back new knowledge and prepare for sending astronauts to Mars. “Orion is a highly-capable, state-of-the-art spacecraft, designed specifically for deep space missions with astronauts, and an integral part of NASA’s infrastructure for Artemis missions and future exploration of the solar system.” Mark Kirasich, Orion Program manager at Johnson, also said: “No other spacecraft in the world can keep humans alive hundreds of thousands of miles from Earth for weeks at a time with the safety features, crew accommodations, technical innovations, and reliability that Orion provides.”