Nearly 50 years after the last Apollo mission to the moon, NASA has established a program that promises to land humans on unexplored lunar regions and, eventually, on the surface of Mars. It all starts with Artemis I.
It is no coincidence that the Artemis program is named after the twin sisters of Apollo in Greek mythology. Artemis will send manned missions to the moon where the famous Apollo program left off in his 1972, but picking it up in a new way.
The goals of the Artemis program include landing a diverse crew of astronauts on the moon and exploring the shadowy south pole of the moon for the first time. This ambitious effort also aims to establish a sustained presence on the Moon and create a reusable system. This will enable manned exploration of Mars and beyond.
But none of this is possible without taking a giant leap first. When Artemis I launches on her Aug. 29, the unmanned mission will enable future deep space exploration before humans set out on their journey in 2024 and 2025 aboard Artemis II and Artemis III, respectively. Test all new components.
The mission team is scheduled to launch the new Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on August 29 between 8:33 a.m. and 10:33 a.m. ET. and has backup launch windows on September 2nd and September 5th.
Artemis 1 will go on a 42-day mission after being launched from Earth. During the journey, the Orion spacecraft will travel 40,000 miles (64,000 kilometers) past the Moon. This puts her 30,000 miles (48,000 kilometers) further than the record set by Apollo 13. This route mimics the journey that the Artemis II crew will take in his 2024.
According to NASA officials, this will be the furthest spacecraft ever built for humans.
As NASA Administrator Bill Nelson pointed out at a press conference in early August, historic Launch Pad 39B is no stranger to monster rockets. It was once home to the Saturn V rocket that brought the Apollo program to the moon and took off with 7.6 million pounds of thrust. The SLS rocket hits the launch pad with 8.8 million pounds of thrust.
“As we embark on the first Artemis test flight, we recall the agency’s story-filled past, but our eyes are on it rather than the immediate future,” Nelson said. .
“It’s a future where NASA will land the first woman and the first man of color on the moon. We will develop the science and technology to send it to Mars.”
A new generation of exploration
A new vehicle is needed to return to the Moon with a view to an eventual trip to Mars.
Lessons learned from the Apollo and Shuttle programs were reflected in the design of the Space Launch System rocket, the most powerful rocket in the world. The Megamoon rocket will propel the spacecraft almost 1,000 times farther than the International Space Station’s position in low Earth orbit. The SLS rocket accelerated Orion to a speed of 22,600 miles per hour (36,370 kilometers per hour), escaping Earth’s gravity and reaching the moon.
said John Honeycutt, Space Launch Systems Program Manager at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
On top of the rocket is the Orion spacecraft, designed to carry the crew into deep space and return the astronauts safely to Earth.
The spacecraft has a crew module, a service module, and a launch abort system that functions to safely transport the spacecraft and its crew in the event of an emergency that may occur during launch or ascent. Orion’s orbit through space will test the spacecraft’s ability to stay in communication with Earth beyond the moon and protect its crew from radiation.
Under Orion is the European Service Module.
Howard Hu, Orion Program Manager at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, said:
The Orion spacecraft is equipped with hardware and software that will allow future crew members to have a complete picture of what is happening in their vehicles when they are thousands of miles from home. Mr. Fu said.
One of Orion’s biggest tests might be testing its heat shield, the largest ever built.
When the rover returns to Earth in October, it will face temperatures half that of the Sun’s surface and will crash into the upper part of Earth’s atmosphere at 25,000 miles per hour (40,200 kilometers per hour). That’s 32 times his speed of sound, Nelson said. .
“Orion will come back hotter and faster than any spacecraft ever, at Mach 32,” Nelson said. “On the space shuttle, we were at Mach 25, about 17,500 miles per hour (28,160 kilometers per hour).” (Mach 1 is the speed of sound.)
Heat shields have been tested on Earth, but returning from space is one of those true tests that cannot be fully replicated in simulation.
“Re-entry is perfect for demonstrating our heat shield capabilities for future missions to ensure the safe return of the spacecraft and of course protect the crew,” Fu said. .
ultimate test
All objectives of the first Artemis flight demonstrate the capabilities Orion needs as it carries humans into deep space. The list includes overall safe flight, SLS rocket performance, heat shield testing, and recovery of a spacecraft wrecked in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego.
Orion will not have a crew on board for this first mission, but it will be filled with data from the flight, including much-needed passenger-mounted sensors. Three mannequins board Artemis I to simulate what a human might experience. Data from the sensors reveal the amount of vibrations experienced by the human body, radiation exposure, and the usefulness of her flight suit and radiation vest.
Artemis I is a test flight, so the Artemis team is prepared to take more risks, said Mike Sarafin, NASA’s Artemis I mission manager. Taking those risks, he said, would solve the problem when the actual crew was on board.
But the idea of restarting human space exploration by taking the giant leap from Apollo to Artemis is more important than all the data and science the mission team collects.
“Artemis I shows that we can do great things that bring people together, that can benefit humanity, that can inspire the world like Apollo,” said Nelson. “And to all of us who look up to the moon and dream of the day when mankind returns to the moon: People, we are here, we will be back, and that journey, our journey is Artemis It starts with I.”
Source: www.cnn.com
