Following the success of Artemis 1, NASA plans to launch the second mission of the Artemis program next year. This will aim to place astronauts in orbit around the moon, a first since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.
NASA has been working for a long time to set up its Artemis program, the third mission of which, Artemis III, will see Man sets foot on the moon again. But, before getting there, the agency must carry out several missions to test the reliability of its space technologies.
In 2022, NASA successfully completed the mission Artemis I, which aimed to place an uncrewed Orion capsule into lunar orbit, before bringing it back to earth. Moreover, the agency celebrated this achievement by publishing a 12-minute documentary entitled “Artemis: Success and Preparation”.
Artemis 2: next step, the return of man to the moon!
NASA said: “Artemis 1 set new performance records, exceeded expectations for efficiency, and established a new baseline of safety for humans in deep space. This is a prelude to the rest of the events: after the success of Artemis 1, humans will fly around the Moon with Artemis 2.”
This success thus reinforces the agency’s idea of launching Artemis II in 2025, a relatively similar mission, with the difference that this time, the Orion capsule will be occupied by three NASA astronauts and one Agency astronaut. Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
NASA Commander Reid Wiseman, NASA Pilot Victor Glover, NASA Mission Specialist Christina Koch, and CSA Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen will be placed in orbit around the Moon before returning to Earth. The latter should wear a brand new spacesuit designed by Axiom Space.
Artemis 2 will use the massive Space Launch System (SLS) rocket to send an Orion capsule to the moon. Astronauts and mission controllers will collect data about Orion and crew performance to ensure the Artemis program is ready to send people to the surface of the Moon via the Artemis III mission.
Source : space.com
