HomeScience & TechNASA's First Human Mission Artemis III to the Moon's South Pole

NASA’s First Human Mission Artemis III to the Moon’s South Pole

Humans have always been drawn to explore, discover and learn as much as possible about the world and worlds around us. It’s not always easy, but it’s in our nature. For the benefit of all mankind, NASA and its partners will land the first woman and the first person of color on the surface of the Moon with Artemis. After two Artemis test missions, Artemis III, currently scheduled for 2025, will mark the first human return to the lunar surface in more than 50 years. NASA makes history by sending the first humans to explore the region near the moon’s south pole.

NASA’s Orion spacecraft will be the crew’s way to and from Earth and to and from lunar orbit. Orion is the only spacecraft capable of returning crews to Earth at the speed of returning to the Moon. On the successful Artemis I mission, Orion’s uniquely designed heat shield was recently tested under these extreme reentry conditions. Four astronauts lift off from Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida atop the Space Launch System (SLS), the only rocket powerful enough to send Orion, its crew and their supplies to the Moon in a single launch. The crew will be drawn from the most diverse astronaut corps in history, each equipped with unique skills and intensively trained.

First, the crew will go into Earth orbit, where they will perform system checks and adjust the solar panels on Orion. Then, strong thrust from SLS’s interim cryogenic propulsion stage will help Orion perform a translunar injection maneuver that sets course for the Moon.

The crew will travel toward the Moon for several days and perform a corrective engine burn to capture the Moon’s gravitational field. At the right time and place, Orion will perform a series of two engine fires to place the spacecraft in a lunar Near-Rectilinear Halo Orbit (NRHO). Out of hundreds of potential orbits, NASA selected NRHO to achieve the long-term goals of Artemis. NRHO will provide near-constant communications with Earth and access to locations throughout the Moon. Because it is gravitationally balanced between the Earth and the Moon, this orbit maximizes fuel efficiency. On future missions, NASA and its partners will assemble the Lunar Gateway Space Station at NRHO to serve as a hub for Artemis missions.

NASA has selected SpaceX to provide the human landing system that will carry Artemis III astronauts from Orion in lunar orbit to the lunar surface and back. SpaceX plans to use a unique concept of operations to increase the overall efficiency of their lander. After a series of tests, SpaceX will fly at least one uncrewed demo mission that will land a Starship on the lunar surface. When the Starship meets all NASA requirements and high crew safety standards, it will be ready for its first Artemis mission.

Before launch, the SpaceX crew will launch the warehouse into Earth orbit. A series of reusable tankers will transport propellant to a depot to fill the human landing system. The unmanned Starship Human Landing System will then fly into Earth orbit and rendezvous with the depot to fill its tanks before performing the translunar injection engine and travel for approximately six days to NRHO where it will await the Artemis III crew.

When both spacecraft arrive at NRHO, Orion will dock with the Starship Human Landing System in preparation for the first lunar surface expedition of the 21st century. Once the crew and supplies are ready, two astronauts board the Starship and two remain in the Orion. Orion will detach and retreat from the starship to remain in NRHO for about one orbit around the Moon, which will take about 6.5 days. This will match the length of the surface expedition, so that once Orion completes its orbit, the two-man surface crew will finish their work on the surface in time to launch back to rendezvous with the spacecraft.

NASA is targeting sites around the South Pole for the Artemis era of human lunar exploration. The extreme, contrasting conditions make it a challenging place for Earthlings to land, live and work, but the region’s unique features hold promise for unprecedented deep space scientific discoveries. Using advanced technology including autonomous systems, the crew will land inside the starship at a carefully selected location within a 100 meter radius.

After landing, the first task of the surface crew will be to ensure that all systems are ready for a stay on the lunar surface. Then they will rest, eat and recharge their energy for the first full day of the expedition.

During their time on the moon, the astronauts will conduct scientific work inside the starship and conduct a series of moonwalks, leaving the starship to explore the surface. The astronauts don advanced spacesuits, exit the airlock, and descend into the starship’s elevator. NASA selected Axiom Space to provide the Artemis III surface suits and spacewalk systems. These suits will give astronauts a greater range of motion and flexibility to explore more of the landscape than on previous lunar missions.

During their walks on the moon, the astronauts will take pictures and videos, survey the geology, retrieve samples and collect other data to meet specific scientific goals. The view from the lunar south pole region will look very different from the photos taken by the Apollo missions in the lunar equatorial region. The sun will hover just above the horizon, casting long, dark shadows over the terrain, which the crew will survey using searchlights and navigation tools. The information and materials collected by the Artemis III astronauts will increase our understanding of the mysterious South Pole region, the Moon and our Solar System.

Mission control teams on the ground will be in contact with the crew as they relay what they see, hear and feel. Through mission coverage and the ability to send high-quality images and video to Earth using advanced communications technology, they will share a unique new human experience with the world.

After completing the surface expedition, both astronauts will lift off the lunar surface and head back to NRHO in a starship to reunite with their crew members in Orion. After docking, the crew will spend up to five days in orbit, transferring samples between vehicles and preparing for the journey back to Earth.

When they reach the optimal NRHO launch point, with all four astronauts back in Orion, they disengage and ignite Orion’s engines, jettisoning the spacecraft past the Moon and allowing it to reach Earth. The crew travels about 24,855 miles (about 40,000 kilometers) per hour during reentry into Earth’s atmosphere. With the help of 11 parachutes, the spacecraft will plunge into the Pacific Ocean, where it and its crew will be picked up with the support of the US Coast Guard and the US Navy. Artemis III will be one of the most complex feats of engineering and human ingenuity in the history of deep space exploration to date.

Read Now :<strong>NASA is creating a tool to predict the noise of supersonic jets at launch</strong>

[responsivevoice_button buttontext="Listen This Post" voice="Hindi Female"]

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

RELATED ARTICLES

Trending News

Shehnaaz Gill Stuns in Ethereal White Salwar Suit, Sets Fashion Goals Ablaze

Shehnaaz Gill, known for her impeccable fashion sense, once again dazzles her fans with a mesmerizing ethnic look. In...

Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt Plan to Name ₹250 Crore Bungalow After Daughter Raha Kapoor

Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, and Neetu Kapoor were recently spotted together at their under-construction bungalow in Mumbai's Bandra area....

PM Narendra Modi and Bill Gates Discuss AI, Technology Future, and Women Empowerment

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates engaged in discussions covering a broad spectrum of...

Unraveling the Mystery of the Sun’s Bizarre Rotation with Varying Spin Rates Across Different Latitudes

The Sun's rotation is a peculiar phenomenon that has long baffled scientists. Unlike what one might expect, its surface...