We have lift off! On the morning of November 16, the American space agency NASA successfully launched the Artemis I mission. The Orion capsule is now on its way to the moon.
Two previous launch attempts failed and the launch had to be postponed three more times, but now the time has finally come: Artemis I is on its way to the moon. The mission is the first step in NASA’s plan to return astronauts to the moon.
Artemis I mission
The launch took place from Cape Canaveral in Florida. The 98 meter high rocket used is the Space Launch System, or SLS rocket. This is the most powerful rocket ever deployed for a space mission.
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On Wednesday morning, at a quarter to eight Dutch time, this colossus propelled the Orion capsule upwards. That is a spacecraft that can accommodate astronauts. During launch, it stood at the very top of the multi-stage rocket. The capsule is shaped like a slightly flattened tumtum candy.
During this first mission, no astronauts will travel in Orion yet, but test dummies will. The first manned flight, the Artemis II mission, is likely to follow in 2024.
Over the next 26 days, the Orion capsule will travel to the moon, orbit it for six days, and then return to Earth. Finally, the capsule will splash into the Pacific Ocean on December 11. The reusable capsule will then be retrieved and redeployed on subsequent missions.
NASA announced soon after launch that Orion had successfully undocked and could begin its journey. For the necessary power supply during its journey, Orion uses solar panels that are made in the Netherlands.
Again to the moon
The goal of the Artemis program is to return humans to the moon. If everything goes smoothly, this will happen as early as 2025, but you can typically count on some delay with such ambitious space programs.
When the time comes, NASA will mark two new milestones: the organization will put both the first woman and the first person of color on the moon. This NASA lunar reprise takes place over fifty years after the last astronauts left in 1972.
Science on the go
Although all eyes are on that final goal – the moon landing – this first Artemis I journey also yields quite a bit of exciting science. For example, the Orion capsule contains test dummies representing female bodies. They are equipped with force and radiation sensors that measure what an astronaut has to endure during a lunar mission. In particular, radiation-sensitive areas of female space travelers, such as the breasts and ovaries, are equipped with sensors.
Artemis I also takes ten small, handy satellites with it. These will measure, among other things, charged particles that flow into space from the sun.
The journey is also a good test for the new Orion capsule, which must endure temperatures of up to 2,800 degrees Celsius when it returns to Earth. That’s what you get when you enter the Earth’s atmosphere at 40,000 kilometers per hour.