On your calendars, note: The first test flight for NASA‘s Artemis program to send astronauts back to the Moon might take off as early as August 29, the organization said on Wednesday.
The United States wants to send people back to the Moon, establish a long-term presence there, and then utilize the knowledge acquired to prepare for a voyage to Mars in the 2030s. Artemis-1 is the first of a number of missions in this direction.
The initial window of potential launch dates for the massive Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion crew spacecraft was August 29, September 2, and September 5, according to NASA associate administrator James Free.
The choice was made after final ground inspections, or “wet dress rehearsals,” at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center.
The most recent of these tests, completed in June, achieved 90% of the team’s objectives. Cliff Lanham, senior vehicle operations manager, announced on Wednesday that engineers have now changed the defective seals that had led to a hydrogen leak on SLS during the final testing.
The Artemis-1 spacecraft is scheduled to go around the far side of the Moon for four to six weeks, which is longer than any previous mission for an astronaut ship without docking, before returning quicker and hotter than any other craft.
It will also launch a number of CubeSats, or tiny satellites, to conduct space research.
Artemis mission manager Mike Sarafin told reporters: “Our first and our primary objective is to demonstrate Orion’s heat shield in lunar reentry conditions.”
The capsule will be moving at a speed of roughly 24,500 miles per hour (39,400 kilometers per hour) when it returns from the Moon, and the outer air will be just half as heated as the Sun.
The second goal is to show that the crew capsule and rocket are capable of flying while they carry out all of the mission’s maneuvers.
Last but not least, NASA will attempt to successfully recover Orion upon splashdown and properly examine it.
While Artemis-3 will witness the first woman and first person of color touch down on the lunar South Pole, Artemis-2 will be the first crewed test that will fly around the Moon without landing.
To read our blog on “The first full-color pictures from the Webb space telescope are revealed by NASA,” click here.
