By Launches, a Timeline, and More Information Regarding the NASA Artemis Moon Landing Program
Detailed information on the Artemis missions, which aim to send a man and a woman to the Moon in this decade.
NASA’s Artemis program has lofty goals, including returning humans to the Moon for the first time since 1972. Artemis 1, the first of the lunar probes, is planned for liftoff on Monday, August 29. Here you may watch the live feed.
Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt said farewell to the Moon on December 14, 1972, aboard Apollo 17. They probably didn’t give much thought to the fact that humanity wouldn’t set foot on the moon again for another half a century or more as they drifted toward Earth. The Apollo missions, however, are now firmly in the past, and we find ourselves in this same position.
What is Artemis project?
NASA’s goal is to put a woman and a man on the moon no sooner than 2025, and Artemis is the program that finally promises to restart lunar exploration. Nevertheless, there is a great deal more to Artemis than just landing two humans on the surface of the moon. This time around, NASA intends to develop a sustainable presence on and around the Moon, and it also intends to utilize the program as a stepping stone on the way to the next major leap, which will be a crewed journey to Mars.
According to the Artemis Plan developed by NASA, the Artemis program would “allow human expansion beyond the solar system.” Artemis was announced in 2017. The Artemis period may entail as many as eleven lunar trips, some of which will be crewed and some of which will not; the development of the first five of these missions is under underway.
Long-term objectives include the establishment of Artemis Base Camp and the building of the Lunar Gateway, which will be the first space station to orbit the Moon (a surface station). There will be collaboration from both private companies and intergovernmental organizations, the latter of which will include the Canadian Space Agency, the European Space Agency, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
NASA chose Artemis because…
Artemis is the Greek goddess of the moon as well as the hunt. She is also the twin sister of Apollo, thus naming a mission after her is a good nod to the first crewed expeditions to the moon. Since Apollo was the Greek god of the sun, Artemis seems like a more appropriate name for a lunar expedition than Apollo. It is possible to claim that the new name represents a timely corrective to an omission that may have been seen as sexist.
Why is NASA planning to make another trip to the moon after 50 years?
According to a Space Policy Directive that was signed on December 11, 2017, the United States intends to take the lead in developing a “innovative and sustainable program of exploration with commercial and international partners to enable human expansion across the solar system and to bring back to Earth new knowledge and opportunities.” This goal will be accomplished through NASA. According to the White House memorandum, “beginning with missions beyond low-Earth orbit, the United States will lead the return of people to the Moon for long-term exploration and use.” This will be followed by human missions to Mars and other destinations.
To put it another way, NASA believes that returning to Earth’s natural satellite would inspire “a new generation of explorers” and lead to new breakthroughs in science, technology, and medicine.
In fact, there is a great deal about the Moon that scientists do not yet understand, such as its geochemical make-up and how it formed. Importantly, astronauts on the Artemis mission will investigate the south polar areas of the Moon in search of water ice, which would allow for a permanent human settlement on the Moon. Space tourism and the mining of rare-earth materials and helium-3 are just two examples of how Artemis might pave the way for the Moon’s eventual commercialization.
The fact that Artemis serves as a launching pad to Mars is also very important. NASA and its partners should be able to send humans to Mars in the future thanks to the technology and knowledge gained during these missions.
What kinds of technology does Artemis need?
A wide variety of innovative technologies are now being developed by NASA and its public and commercial partners. Even though the Orion spacecraft that will transport astronauts to and from the Moon has been developed, almost everything else has yet to be constructed. And that includes NASA’s “Mega Moon rocket,” the 322-foot-tall (98-meter-tall) Space Launch System (SLS).
In addition to the Lunar Gateway and its many subsystems, NASA is developing two lunar landers, or Human Landing Systems, a lunar spacesuit called xEMU, a lunar rover that operates in microgravity, and a variety of ground systems for exploration.
Artemis’ price?
Many. An Inspector General assessment on November 15, 2021 indicated $40 billion had been spent on Artemis and NASA would spend $93 billion by 2025. The first four SLS/Orion launches will reportedly cost $4.1 billion each. NASA “will have severe issues continuing its Artemis program in its present architecture” if it can’t decrease this cost, the Inspector General said.
Artemis includes SpaceX?
The answer is yes, SpaceX is an integral part of Artemis. The Elon Musk-led business agreed to provide NASA with a lunar lander for the missions in April 2021 in exchange for a $2.89 billion deal. The business hopes to use its future Starship rocket, which would need a vertical landing on the lunar surface, as a means of leveraging the platform.
Before the astronaut transfer can be completed in lunar orbit, the Starship lander must refuel in low Earth orbit and establish communications with Orion. The level of technical sophistication needed to do this looks quite high, and we can’t wait to see whether the SpaceX crew succeeds. NASA, however, is looking to a private source (whose identity has yet to be revealed) for a second lunar lander.
NASA has Artemis astronauts.
All currently serving NASA astronauts are welcome to apply for the lunar program, the space agency has said. We probably won’t know who will be engaged or in what capacity until 2024, when the first crewed Artemis mission is scheduled to launch.
Artemis 1 launches when?
The launch of Artemis 1 is scheduled to take place on August 29, with a launch window of two hours beginning at 8:33 a.m. Eastern Time. Before returning to Earth on October 10, the mission would end after having lasted for a total of 42 days. There are two opportunities for a backup to be performed:
The launch window will begin at 12:48 p.m. Eastern Time on September 2 and continue for a total of two hours. 39 days would pass until the mission would end, and landing would take place on October 11.
The launch window will begin at 5:12 p.m. Eastern Time on September 5 and continue for a total of 90 minutes. The duration of the operation would be 42 days, and it would end on October 17th.
For the purpose of this mission, an unmanned Orion spacecraft will go to the Moon and then return to Earth 42 days later. There will be no landing on the moon during this trip. The purpose of the Artemis 1 mission is to put the young rocket and Orion capsule through their paces in preparation for a trip with astronauts aboard.
A total of thirteen low-cost cubesats will be launched during the Artemis 1 mission. Additionally, the mission will feature a set of three manikins developed to assess vibrations and radiation in space, as well as a vest meant to shield personnel from ionizing radiation.
When will the Artemis 2 be sent into orbit?
The current plan is for Artemis 2 to take place no sooner than May 2024. This mission will have a human crew aboard an Orion capsule that will go to the Moon and return without landing on the lunar surface. The only significant difference between this mission and Artemis 1 will be the participation of four astronauts from the NASA.
Artemis 3 launch date?
At this time, 2025 is seen as the earliest that Artemis 3 might be built. The NASA inspector general reported in March 2022 that the delay in developing the lunar spacesuit would likely push back the launch date until 2026 at the earliest.
A man and a woman are scheduled to touch down in the south polar area of the Moon and spend almost a full week exploring the lunar surface. The remaining two members of the crew will remain on the Lunar Gateway, which will be linked to Orion. An unpressurized rover and other equipment will be left on the surface in advance of the mission, if all goes according to plan. There will be at least four spacewalks performed, with the primary goal of finding water ice.
Artemis 4 launch date?
The year 2026 has been pegged as the target for the fourth Artemis mission. The Lunar Gateway will be the destination for the launch of four astronauts, who will then continue developing the lunar settlement once they are there. This mission will transport the I-Hab dwelling module developed by the European Space Agency to the Gateway spacecraft, which will function in a one-of-a-kind near-rectilinear halo orbit. I-Hab is slated to become the primary living quarters for astronauts when they are stationed on Gateway in the not too distant future. During the course of this mission, a lunar landing is not anticipated to take place.
Artemis 5 launch date?
The launch of Artemis 5 is anticipated for 2027. Following the arrival of all four astronauts at Gateway, the plan calls for the deployment of two crew members to the surface of the moon. The lunar south pole will be the focus of the astronauts’ next exploration mission on the moon.
Additionally, the mission will attempt to deliver the European Space Agency’s ESPRIT (European System Providing Refueling, Infrastructure, and Telecommunications) to the Gateway station. According to the European Space Agency (ESA), ESPIRIT “will offer increased communications, refuelling, and a window something like the European-built Cupola observatory on the International Space Station.” ESPIRIT will also provide refueling.
Next steps?
Artemis missions 6 through 11 are currently in the proposal stage, so we don’t know when or what they’ll include.
Having stated that, the Gateway will need an airlock, and thus, if Artemis 6 is going to take place, the supply and installation of this component will be a priority. There is a good chance that one of these late Artemis missions will include the construction of a lunar habitat, which is essentially a pressurized mobile house, in addition to other components that are meant to make it possible for humankind to maintain a presence on the Moon. At this point in the journey, the lunar experience might extend for up to 45 days.
Should the Artemis program evolve as predicted, NASA may then prepare for a crewed voyage to Mars. The arrival of humans on Mars is not currently anticipated to take place until sometime between the late 2030s and the early 2040s. To make the most of a favorable alignment in orbit between Mars and Earth in 2033, it may be possible to send a crewed mission to Mars and bring them back without ever setting foot on the red planet.
And after that, the whole of the solar system is at your disposal. However, everything begins with Artemis.
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