Artemis II Mission

Artemis II Mission Latest News

NASA is on track to send humans around the moon as early as the first week of February as it makes final preparations for the imminent rollout of its Artemis 2 mega moon rocket.

About Artemis II Mission

• It will be the first mission to carry humans to the moon’s vicinity since 1972.
• It is the second scheduled flight of the Artemis program and the first crewed Artemis mission. 
• It is the first to fly astronauts aboard the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft. 
• While Artemis 1 successfully flew Orion around the moon without astronauts in 2022, Artemis 2 will be the first time humans travel aboard the spacecraft and venture beyond low Earth orbit in more than 50 years.
• Four astronauts will take a 10-day flight around the moon and back to Earth, testing systems ahead of the Artemis 3 mission, which aims to deliver astronauts to the lunar surface by 2028.
• The mission will include three NASA astronauts and one astronaut from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
• Several payloads will fly aboard Artemis II to expand our knowledge of space radiation, human health and behavior, and space communications.
• The astronauts and mission controllers will collect data on Orion and the crew’s performance to assess how ready the Artemis program is to send people to the moon’s surface.
• Orion will undergo high-speed reentry through Earth’s atmosphere before safely splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego.

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Key Facts of Artemis Program

• It is NASA’s program to return astronauts to the Moon, preparing the way for human missions to Mars.
• It aims to “land the first woman and first person of colour on the Moon“, explore the lunar surface.
• The Artemis program includes the construction of the Lunar Gateway space station in orbit around the Moon.
• The next missions are currently in preparation:
  • Artemis 3 will be the first crewed Moon landing mission since Apollo 17 in 1972. 
    • NASA aims to land the first female astronaut and first astronaut of colour on the lunar surface. 
    • They will spend a week on the Moon performing scientific studies, before returning to Earth.
  • Artemis 4 will deliver a core part of a new lunar space station (named ‘Gateway’) into orbit around the Moon, and land another two astronauts on the Moon’s surface.
  • Artemis 5 will add another important module to Gateway and involve a third crewed lunar landing to undertake further surface science.

Source: LS