Artemis 1: In 100 Days NASA’s Long-Awaited Moon Mission Could Blast-Off. Here’s Everything You Need To Know

NASA is committed to landing the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon in 2024—or thereabouts—as part of the Artemis-3 mission.

But first will come Artemis-1.

Spaceflight Now reports that NASA is now saying February 12, 2022 is the soonest the un-crewed autonomous Artemis-1 mission could launch.

That comes in the wake of NASA’s reveal last week that its Orion spacecraft is now secured atop the agency’s 322-foot-tall Space Launch System rocket, so in position for the Artemis-1 launch.

Artemis I will be the first integrated flight test of NASA’s deep space exploration system: the ... [+]

 NASA

What is Artemis-1?

Artemis-1 is an un-crewed flight test mission during which NASA’s Orion spacecraft, European Service Model (ESM) and NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS)—the most powerful rocket in the world—will fly to the Moon.

Launching from Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, the as-yet-unflown spacecraft and rocket will launch, orbit the Earth, and then send Orion and the ESM to enter an elliptical orbit of the Moon that will see them get to within 62 miles above its surface and about 40,000 miles beyond it.

That’s farther than any spacecraft built for humans has ever flown.

The mission will last about three weeks with the Orion capsule splashing down of Baja, California just after ditching the ESM.

NASA’s Orion spacecraft is secured atop the agency’s powerful Space Launch System rocket, and the ... [+]

 NASA

What comes next for Artemis-1?

The exact date of the launch of Artemis-1 depends on the success of a fueling test on the launch pad in January 2021.

Taking place several weeks before the actual launch, that so-called “Wet Dress Rehearsal Testing” demonstrates the ability to load cryogenic propellants into the rocket at the launch pad. The test also involves practicing the launch countdown and the team’s ability to scrub a launch and safely remove the propellants.

When will Artemis-1 launch?

Although February 12, 2022 is the earliest date it’s also being reported that it could take place any date up to February 27, 2022.

The second window opens March 12 through March 27 , 2022 and a third opens April 8 through April 23, 2022.

NASA¹s Space Launch System rocket will launch with Orion atop it from Launch Complex 39B at NASA¹s ... [+]

 NASA

What is Artemis-2?

The first crewed lunar flyby of the 21st century, Artemis-2 will be a repeat of Artemis-1, but with four astronauts on board to test Orion’s life support systems. The shorter 10-day mission will begin with launch and two orbits of the Earth before it moves into a highly elliptical orbit.

A translunar injection comes 24 hours later. The crew will experience a brief total eclipse of the Sun as the Moon passes between them before traveling 4,600 miles beyond the far side of the Moon. After a free trajectory return to Earth they will splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

What is Artemis-3?

A 30 day mission will see Orion—with four astronauts inside—rendezvous with an embryonic Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway, before one female astronaut and one male astronaut descend in a SpaceX Starship vehicle to the lunar surface close to Shackleton Crater at the Moon’s South Pole. The mission will involve four spacewalks in 6.5 days.

It will be the first time astronauts have landed on the lunar surface since the Apollo 17 left the Moon in December, 1972.

The astronauts for Artemis-3 will be selected in 2022.

Further Artemis missions each year through 2030 will help build the Lunar Gateway’s habitation module and descend a further three times to the surface of the Moon.

Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2021/11/04/artemis-1-nasas-long-awaited-moon-mission-could-blast-off-in-100-days-heres-everything-you-need-to-know/?sh=68d497c34780