Washington (AFP) – Fifty years after the last Apollo mission, the Artemis program is poised to take over lunar exploration with a test launch Monday of NASA’s most powerful rocket.

The goal is to return humans to the Moon for the first time since the last Apollo mission in 1972 — and eventually to Mars. The 322-foot-long (98-meter) Space Launch System (SLS) rocket is scheduled to lift off at 8:33 a.m. (1233 GMT) from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. The mission, more than a decade in the planning, may be uncrewed, but it is highly symbolic for NASA, which is under pressure from China and private rivals like SpaceX. Hotels around Cape Canaveral are booked solid with 100,000 to 200,000 spectators expected to watch the kickoff. #photo 1 The massive orange and white rocket has been at KSC’s Launch Complex 39B for a week. “Ever since we stepped out on the pad last week, you can feel the excitement, the energy,” said Janet Petro, KSC director. “It’s really, really tangible.” The goal of the flight, christened Artemis 1, is to test the SLS and the Orion crew capsule that sits atop the rocket. #photo 2 Mannequins equipped with sensors will replace the crew members, recording acceleration, vibration and radiation levels. The cameras will capture every moment of the 42-day journey and will include a selfie of the spacecraft with the Moon and Earth in the background.

Splashdown in the Pacific

The Orion capsule will orbit the Moon, coming within 60 miles (100 kilometers) of its closest approach, then fire its engines to reach a distance of 40,000 miles further, a record for a spacecraft designated to transports people. #photo 3 One of the mission’s primary goals is to test the capsule’s heat shield, which at 16 feet in diameter is the largest ever built. On its return to Earth’s atmosphere, the heat shield will have to withstand a speed of 25,000 miles per hour and a temperature of 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,760 degrees Celsius). Orion, its descent slowed by parachutes, will end its journey with a splashdown off San Diego in the Pacific. Monday’s launch will be at the mercy of the weather, which can be unpredictable in Florida this time of year, and NASA has created a two-hour launch window. If the rocket is unable to take off on Monday, September 2 and 5 have been written as alternative flight dates. #photo 4 Otherwise, it’s all systems go. NASA gave the go-ahead for the mission on Tuesday after a thorough inspection known as a flight readiness review. That’s not to say that things can’t go wrong with a rocket and capsule flying for the first time.

‘Inherent risk’

“We’re doing something that’s incredibly difficult to do and has inherent risk,” said Mike Sarafin, the Artemis 1 mission manager. #photo 5 Because this is an uncrewed flight, Sarafin said the mission will continue in conditions that would not be acceptable for a flight with astronauts. “If we had a failed solar array installation, we would move on, and that’s something we wouldn’t necessarily do on a manned flight,” he said. A complete failure would be devastating for a program that costs $4.1 billion per launch and is already years behind schedule. The next mission, Artemis 2, will bring astronauts into orbit around the Moon without landing on its surface. The Artemis 3 crew is scheduled to land on the Moon in 2025 at the earliest. While the Apollo astronauts who walked on the Moon were all white men, the Artemis program plans to include the first woman and person of color. And since humans have already visited the Moon, Artemis has its sights set on another lofty goal — an eventual manned mission to Mars. Gateway would serve as a staging and resupply station for a trip to Mars that would last at least several months. “I think it’s going to inspire even more than Apollo,” Bob Cabana, a NASA fellow and former astronaut, said of Artemis. “It’s going to be absolutely brilliant.” © 2022 AFP

title: “It S All Systems Go For The Artemis 1 Mission To The Moon " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-30” author: “Maria Slater”

Fifty years after the last Apollo mission, the Artemis program is poised to take over lunar exploration with a test launch Monday of NASA’s most powerful rocket ever. The goal is to return humans to the Moon for the first time since the last Apollo mission in 1972 — and eventually to Mars. The 322-foot-long (98-meter) Space Launch System (SLS) rocket is scheduled to lift off at 8:33 a.m. (1233 GMT) from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. The mission, more than a decade in the planning, may be uncrewed, but it is highly symbolic for NASA, which is under pressure from China and private rivals like SpaceX. Hotels around Cape Canaveral are booked solid with 100,000 to 200,000 spectators expected to watch the kickoff. The massive orange and white rocket has been at KSC’s Launch Complex 39B for a week. “Ever since we stepped out on the pad last week, you can feel the excitement, the energy,” said Janet Petro, KSC director. “It’s really, really tangible.” The goal of the flight, christened Artemis 1, is to test the SLS and the Orion crew capsule that sits atop the rocket. Mannequins equipped with sensors will replace the crew members, recording acceleration, vibration and radiation levels. The cameras will capture every moment of the 42-day journey and will include a selfie of the spacecraft with the Moon and Earth in the background. The White Flight Control Room at Johnson Space Center’s Mission Control Center in Houston, Texas. Splashdown in the Pacific The Orion capsule will orbit the Moon, coming within 60 miles (100 kilometers) of its closest approach, then fire its engines to reach a distance of 40,000 miles further, a record for a spacecraft designated to transports people. One of the mission’s primary goals is to test the capsule’s heat shield, which at 16 feet in diameter is the largest ever built. On its return to Earth’s atmosphere, the heat shield will have to withstand a speed of 25,000 miles per hour and a temperature of 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,760 degrees Celsius). Orion, its descent slowed by parachutes, will end its journey with a splashdown off San Diego in the Pacific. Monday’s launch will be at the mercy of the weather, which can be unpredictable in Florida this time of year, and NASA has created a two-hour launch window. The Artemis 1 rocket on the launch pad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. If the rocket is unable to take off on Monday, September 2 and 5 have been written as alternative flight dates. Otherwise, it’s all systems go. NASA gave the go-ahead for the mission on Tuesday after a thorough inspection known as a flight readiness review. That’s not to say that things can’t go wrong with a rocket and capsule flying for the first time. ‘Inherent risk’ “We’re doing something that’s incredibly difficult to do and has inherent risk,” said Mike Sarafin, the Artemis 1 mission manager. Because this is an uncrewed flight, Sarafin said the mission will continue in conditions that would not be acceptable for a flight with astronauts. “If we had a failed solar array installation, we would move on, and that’s something we wouldn’t necessarily do on a manned flight,” he said.

                  A mock-up training module of Gateway’s Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) module in Houston, Texas.                                       Graphic on NASA’s Artemis program to create a mini space station that will orbit the Moon before landing on the surface in 2024.

A complete failure would be devastating for a program that costs $4.1 billion per launch and is already years behind schedule. The next mission, Artemis 2, will bring astronauts into orbit around the Moon without landing on its surface. The Artemis 3 crew is scheduled to land on the Moon in 2025 at the earliest. While the Apollo astronauts who walked on the Moon were all white men, the Artemis program plans to include the first woman and person of color. NASA’s Artemis 1 rocket launches at Launch Pad Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. And since humans have already visited the Moon, Artemis has its sights set on another lofty goal — an eventual manned mission to Mars. The Artemis program is to establish a permanent human presence on the Moon with an orbiting space station known as Gateway and a base on the surface. Gateway would serve as a staging and resupply station for a trip to Mars that would last at least several months. “I think it’s going to inspire even more than Apollo,” Bob Cabana, a NASA fellow and former astronaut, said of Artemis. “It’s going to be absolutely brilliant.” NASA ‘go for launch’ for planned Artemis I mission to the moon © 2022 AFP
Reference: All systems go for Artemis 1 mission to the Moon (2022 August 24) Retrieved August 24, 2022 by
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