The most awaited NASA’s Artemis program is consolidating its development. NASA has started the assembling process for Artemis-I that is going to launch in the year 2021. Before this, NASA laid down the detailed Artemis plan for the lunar exploration program. Artemis program is in line with the mission to send the first woman and next man to the moon by 2024. NASA aspires to study the moon in more detail and establish sustainable missions by 2028.
What is the Artemis mission?
Artemis/ARTEMIS stands for Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence, and Electrodynamics of the Moon’s Interaction with the Sun). The mission’s name is after the Greek goddess of the Moon, twin sister of Apollo. In 1972, NASA sent its last human mission to the moon under the Apollo mission. The entire Artemis program will complete in three phases. The first phase will start with the unhuman flight Artemis-I mission in 2021. In 2023, the first crew on board preparation flight will take place with Artemis-II. Once both the phases come with success, NASA will launch the last stage, i.e., the third phase (Artemis-III) in the year 2024, with the astronauts landing on the moon’s surface. The crew will stay on the moon for a week to explore the surface and extract materials.
How is NASA working towards Artemis?
NASA is using its Space Launch System (SLS) along with Orion spacecraft for the Artemis mission. The stacking of SLS has begun at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida as an assemblage. For the first liftoff, a total of 10 segments will form the twin solid rocket boosters. Much will depend on the Human Landing System (HLS) to ensure a soft landing with safe descent on the moon’s surface. NASA is also developing a dedicated space-suit named as xEMU for the crew’s extravehicular mobility unit. For the Orion spacecraft gateway, NASA will integrate PPE (Power and Propulsion Equipment) and HALO (Habitation and Logistics Outpost). NASA will launch this gateway in the year 2023 for testing during the Artemis-II mission.
Objectives of the Artemis Mission
With the Artemis mission, NASA will fulfill some of the following objectives towards space missions:
It will, somewhere, act as a stepping stone to NASA’s next human planetary mission to Mars.
It will investigate the moon’s mysteries by understanding the soil mechanics and geological composition, heat and seismic flow, etc. As a result, it will take humanity closer to the understanding of the universe.
Get concrete evidence for the presence of water and other resources for long-term exploration.
Conclusion
With the initiation of the Artemis-I mission’s final-stage development, humanity is moving ahead to explore another space mission. The Artemis-I mission has the potential to unveil many hidden facts and information related to the moon. So, the 3-series mission can deliver many landmark achievements. NASA is trying too hard to ensure a smoother and safer human-spaceflight to the moon after a time of 52 years.
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