Photo : NASA
Fourth attempt, finally the Moon
After being delayed three times since August, once due to a fuel leak, and twice by hurricanes Ian and Nicole, the launch to the Moon of the Orion capsule by the SLS rocket has conducted November 16 at 1:47 a.m. The capsule is inhabited by dummies that will record important data about the impacts on astronauts of future flights to the Moon. This flight should last 26 days and the Orion capsule will be brought back to Earth.
Photo : NASA
Roadside stop to the Moon
The Artemis mission plans to bring a crew to lunar soil by 2025. This will be the first manned mission to the Moon since the Apollo 18 crew landed there in December 1972. The program also aims to install a permanent position on the lunar surface, thanks among other things to the Lunar Gateway platform, which will be in permanent orbit around the Moon. This will serve as a relay between the Earth and the surface of the Moon.
Goal: March
For the Artemis mission, whose budget is estimated at nearly 100 billion dollars, NASA is collaborating with private enterprise, with the aim of accelerating the construction and assembly of equipment. The SPaceX company, founded by Elon Musk, is one of the major partners of the mission. One of the objectives of Artemis is to test and develop equipment that will be used for future manned missions to the surface of the planet Mars. NASA plans to send a crew to Mars as early as 2033, but experts believe 2035 is a more realistic goal.