NASA’s SLS rocket has successfully launched from Cape Canaveral with four Orion crew members on board. During the first day of the Artemis 2 mission, astronauts will conduct critical systems and navigation tests before beginning their journey toward Earth’s moon.
NASA’s SLS rocket has successfully launched from Cape Canaveral with four Orion crew members on board. During the first day of the Artemis 2 mission, astronauts will conduct critical systems and navigation tests before beginning their journey toward Earth’s moon.
On about the third or fourth day, the spacecraft will begin its journey toward the moon and pass through the moon’s gravitational pull. The mission will last about 10 days, the Washington Post reported.
The Artemis 2 mission aims to orbit the Moon for the first time since the Apollo program. It is a crucial first step in a program aimed at eventually returning humans to the lunar surface after 50 years. NASA plans to build a base there and use it as a springboard for further exploration into the solar system.
Artemis 2's launch relied on a rocket and capsule that had never carried humans before, but it was a success. The astronauts will then circle Earth, test life support systems and conduct final checks before deciding on Thursday whether it is safe to fire the engines for a trip to the moon.
If systems work properly, astronauts Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen will begin their journey to the Moon, arriving six days after launch, following a figure-8 trajectory that will peak more than 4.6 miles (7.4 km) beyond the far side of the Moon.
The Artemis 3 mission, previously positioned as the first lunar landing mission, will now focus on testing critical systems such as spacesuits and the transport module, all in low Earth orbit.
The first manned landing will be postponed to a future mission, likely Artemis 4, with a date yet to be determined. It will have to do without the Gateway station, whose cancellation recently forced a review of the program’s logistical architecture.
Mastering the lunar landing with new technologies is a key element of the new lunar base construction plan, which is divided into three phases, dozens of missions, and an investment of about $10 billion.
