Nearly 50 years after the last Apollo mission ventured onto the lunar surface, NASA has created a program that promises to land humans in unexplored lunar regions and eventually on the surface of Mars — and it all starts with Artemis I. It is no coincidence that the Artemis program is named after the twin sister of Apollo from Greek mythology. Artemis will pick up where the famed Apollo program left off in 1972, sending manned missions to the moon, but in a new way. The goals of the Artemis program include landing diverse crews of astronauts on the moon and exploring the shadowy lunar south pole for the first time. The ambitious effort also aims to establish a permanent presence on the moon and create reusable systems that can enable human exploration of Mars and perhaps beyond. But none of this is possible without first taking a big leap. When Artemis I launches on August 29, the uncrewed mission will test every new element that will make future deep space exploration possible before humans make the journey in 2024 and 2025 on Artemis II and Artemis III, respectively. The mission team expects liftoff of the new Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft between 8:33 A.M. and 10:33 a.m. ET on August 29 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with alternate launch windows of September 2 and September 5. After liftoff from Earth, Artemis I will go on a 42-day mission. During the trip, the Orion spacecraft will travel 40,000 miles (64,000 kilometers) past the moon — 30,000 miles (48,000 kilometers) farther than the record set during Apollo 13. This route mimics the journey which the Artemis II crew will do in 2024. It will be the farthest any human-built spacecraft has flown, according to NASA officials. Historic launch pad 39B is no stranger to monster rockets, as NASA Administrator Bill Nelson pointed out at a press conference earlier in August. It was once home to the Saturn V rocket, which carried the Apollo missions to the moon and took off with 7.6 million pounds of thrust. The SLS rocket will blast off the pad with 8.8 million pounds of thrust. “As we embark on the first test flight of Artemis, we remember the storied past of this agency, but our eyes are not on the immediate future but out there,” Nelson said. “It’s a future where NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the moon. And on these increasingly complex missions, astronauts will live and work in deep space, and we will develop the science and technology to send the first humans to Mars.”
A NEW GENERATION OF EXPLORATION
Returning to the moon, with an eye toward an eventual trip to Mars, requires a new ride. Lessons learned from the Apollo and shuttle programs informed the design of the Space Launch System rocket, the world’s most powerful rocket. The mega moon rocket will propel the spacecraft nearly 1,000 times farther than the International Space Station’s position in low Earth orbit. The SLS rocket will boost Orion to a speed of 22,600 miles per hour (36,370 kilometers per hour) to escape Earth’s gravity and reach the moon. “It’s the only rocket that can send Orion and a crew and supplies into deep space in a single launch,” said John Honeycutt, Space Launch System program manager at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Atop the rocket is the Orion spacecraft, designed to carry crew into deep space and safely return astronauts to Earth. The spacecraft has a crew module, a service module, and a launch abort system that has the ability to transport the spacecraft and its crew to safety during any emergency that might occur during launch or ascent. Orion’s orbit in space will test the craft’s ability to maintain communication with Earth from beyond the moon and protect its crew from radiation. Under Orion is the European service unit. “It’s the side of the vehicle where it has the main propulsion, power and life support resources that we need for Artemis I,” said Howard Hu, Orion program manager at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The Orion spacecraft has hardware and software that will allow future crews to have a complete picture of what’s going on with their vehicle when they’re thousands of miles from home, Hu said. One of the biggest tests for Orion may be testing its heat shield, the largest ever built. When the spacecraft returns to Earth in October, it will encounter temperatures half that of the sun’s surface and hit the top of Earth’s atmosphere at 25,000 miles per hour (40,200 kilometers per hour) — that’s 32 times faster than speed of sound, Nelson said. . “Orion will come home faster and hotter than any spacecraft before at Mach 32,” Nelson said. “On the space shuttle, we were at Mach 25, which is about 17,500 miles per hour (28,160 kilometers per hour).” (Mach 1 is the speed of sound.) The heat shield has been tested on Earth, but the return from space is the only true test that simulations cannot fully reproduce. “Re-entry will be great for demonstrating our heat shield capability, ensuring the spacecraft returns home safely, and of course for future missions, protecting the crew,” Hu said.
THE ULTIMATE TEST
All Artemis launch mission targets will demonstrate the necessary capabilities when Orion carries humans into deep space. The list includes an overall safe flight, the performance of the SLS rocket, the test of the heat shield and the recovery of the spacecraft once launched into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego. Orion won’t be carrying a crew on this initial mission, but it will be loaded with data from the flight — including sensors attached to some much-needed passengers. Three mannequins will be aboard Artemis I to simulate what humans might experience, and data from their sensors will reveal how much shock they experienced, as well as radiation exposure and the usefulness of their flight suits and radiation vests. Because Artemis I is a test flight, the Artemis team is willing to take more risks, said Mike Sarafin, NASA’s Artemis I mission manager. Taking those risks now can eliminate problems when the actual crew is on board, he said. But more than all the data and science the mission team will gather is the idea of restarting human space exploration by taking a big step forward from Apollo to Artemis. “Artemis I shows that we can do great things things that bring people together, things that benefit humanity — things like Apollo that inspire the world,” Nelson said. “And to all of us who look up at the moon, dreaming of the day humanity will return to the lunar surface: Children, we are here, we are returning, and this journey, our journey, begins with Artemis I.”
