‘Humanity’s story’: After more than 50 years a diverse crew on a Moon mission, why NASA’s Artemis II is important Explained

In NASA’s words, the crewed Artemis II mission is “an important step toward a long-term return to the Moon and future missions to Mars”.

Mission commander Reed Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen took off aboard the Orion spacecraft aboard a Space Launch System rocket from Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Before the 32-story rocket lifted off, launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson told the crew, “Good luck, Godspeed Artemis II. Let’s go.”

Artemis II liftoff:

A large number of people gathered in Florida to watch Artemis II take off from the space station.

The US space agency’s Apollo program operated between 1968 and 1972, achieving the historic feat of the first human landing on the Moon.

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Apollo 11 made its name in space history on July 20, 1969, when astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin set foot on the surface of the Moon.

The last landing and human walk on the surface of the Moon occurred in 1972, when Apollo 17 was launched on December 7. Astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt walked on the surface of the Moon. Since then, no humans have returned to the Moon.

In the same year, NASA’s Apollo program endedMainly due to budget limitations and changing political scenarios.

Spacecraft: Orion is NASA’s latest spacecraft for human missions, developed to send astronauts to the Moon. According to the space agency, the spacecraft will also be key to eventually sending humans to Mars. Built by Lockheed Martin, four astronauts can live aboard Orion for up to 21 days without being tethered to another spacecraft. The bottom of the capsule is covered with the world’s largest ablative heat shield, measuring 16.5 feet in diameter, because of the hottest temperatures it will encounter upon return to Earth.

Rocket: The Orion spacecraft flew aboard the Space Launch System rocket, NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration and Artemis. The SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts and cargo directly to the Moon in a single launch. The SLS rocket comes in at 98 meters, putting more emphasis on liftoff with its four main engines and two strap-on boosters.

Test: The science operations of the Artemis II mission will lay the foundation for safe and efficient exploration of the Moon and Mars. The mission crew will collaborate with scientists on Earth to conduct scientific investigations that will pave the way for future crewed missions.

mission commander reed wisemanThe 50-year-old spent 165 days on the International Space Station during a 2014 mission. He is a former US Navy test pilot who later served as NASA’s chief astronaut before being selected as commander of Artemis II.

49-year-old Victor Glover became the first black astronaut to be sent on a lunar mission. Earlier, he spent 168 days in orbit in early 2020 as the pilot of NASA’s Crew-1 mission. Before joining the US space agency, he flew more than 40 aircraft during his career in the US Navy.

Artemis II, with mission specialist Christina Koch She is the first woman to fly a mission to the Moon. She set the record for the longest continuous space flight by a woman by spending 328 days on the ISS in 2019. Koch also participated in NASA’s first three all-female spacewalks.

Jeremy Hansen, 50, is the first Canadian and the first non-US citizen sent on a lunar mission. He is a colonel of the Royal Canadian Air Force, selected for Ottawa’s Astronaut Corps in 2009. Their participation in Artemis II is a reflection of the long-standing US-Canada partnership.

Not only does it mark America’s return to the Moon, it also marks the beginning of a journey that will lead to a long-term human presence on the Moon’s surface.

Another major achievement that marks is that NASA sent the first woman, Christina Koch, a black astronaut, Victor Glover, and the first non-American, Jeremy Hansen, to fly around the Moon.

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Glover said, “This is the story of humanity. Not black history, not women’s history, but it becomes human history.”

It mirrors the 1968 Apollo 8 mission, which was the first manned spacecraft to visit the Moon. It took off from Earth, circled the Moon and returned home. This serves to shake up the system before the US space agency attempts to launch a lunar landing mission.

Artemis II also left Earth on a new rocket, the SLS, which is smaller but more powerful than the Apollo program’s Saturn V rocket.

If everything goes according to plan, Mission Artemis will make astronauts even the most distant travelers.

After spending the first 25 hours of the mission orbiting Earth, the crew will rotate their Orion capsule around the detached upper stage as a docking practice for future moons.

If all goes well, Orion’s main engine will carry the crew about 244,000 miles to the moon. On the sixth day of flight, the spacecraft will pass the Moon and reach its farthest point from Earth.

It would also mean that Apollo 13’s distance record would surpass that of the Artemis II crew, making these astronauts the most distant humans ever traveled.

The approximately six-hour flight of the Artemis mission will allow astronauts to view the moon at arm’s length, the size of a basketball. The mission’s flight will be monitored by their lunar advisor, NASA geologist Kelsey Young, who will monitor the process from mission control in Houston.

Astronauts are also likely to get views of the total solar eclipse with eclipse glasses, as the moon will block the sun from their view for some time, the Associated Press reported.

NASA science mission chief Nikki Fox said Artemis offers a fresh start because half the world’s population was not even born when the space agency’s moonwalkers left their mark on the lunar surface.

Fox was quoted as saying, “There are a lot of people who don’t remember Apollo. There are generations who were not alive at the time of the Apollo launch. This is their Apollo.”

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NASA is in the long-range arena this time with Artemis. Unlike Apollo, which focused on a competitive race against the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, Artemis aims to build a permanent moon base.

It is noteworthy that the Trump administration and NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman want the next boot print on the lunar surface to be made by the Americans, not the Chinese.

Day 1 and 2: Artemis II’s first 25 hours will be spent orbiting Earth, investigating the vast system. The Orion spacecraft’s life-support, propulsion, navigation and communications systems will be tested to ensure it is ready to enter deep space. Then, Orion’s propulsion system will perform a critical engine burn, known as translunar injection, to send the spacecraft out of Earth orbit and onto a trajectory toward the Moon.

Day 3 and 4: During transit to the Moon, astronauts will continue to monitor spacecraft systems as the mission continues to move away from Earth. Communications and navigation will be monitored by mission controllers.

Flight to the Moon: Orion will move past the moon on a “free-return” trajectory, a path that naturally leads the spacecraft back toward Earth without any additional propulsion. With this Orion will reach its maximum distance from Earth.

Day 8: After the Moon flyby, Orion will spend several days returning home conducting additional deep space tests.

Days 9 and 10: Orion will begin to approach Earth with major components before entering the atmosphere at about 25,000 miles per hour. A primary purpose of Artemis II is also to test the capsule’s heat shield during re-entry. The spacecraft is likely to fall into the Pacific Ocean, where recovery teams will be waiting to bring back the crew.

(with inputs from agencies)