NASA Artemis 2 to launch in 2024: Know its significance
After a series of delays, NASA successfully launched Artemis 1 in November 2022. It was an uncrewed mission that set out to test the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The space agency is on course to launch the next mission, Artemis 2, which will be a crewed mission around the Moon in November 2024. Here's why the mission is significant.
Why does this story matter?
The Artemis program is significant for several reasons. For one, it will mark the return of humanity to the Moon for the first time in about 50 years, since the Apollo missions. It will also put the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface for the first time. So far, 12 people—all white men—have set foot on the Moon.
What is the Artemis 2 mission about?
Artemis 2 will take four astronauts around the Moon, but without landing on it, and will bring them back. The crewed mission would last roughly eight days and will test the Orion spacecraft's performance, crew interfaces, and navigation systems. NASA will reveal the crew members of the mission later this year. From what we know, one of the astronauts will be a Canadian.
Artemis 1 was a record-breaking mission
To recall, Artemis 1, which launched on November 16, 2022, was a record-breaking mission. It traveled 2.2 million kilometers around the Moon during its approximate 25-day mission. The Orion space capsule also broke Apollo 13's record. It traveled 432,210km from Earth, which is the maximum distance that any spacecraft built for humans has reached. It safely returned to Earth on December 11.
Post-flight analysis data reveals SLS can support crewed missions
Based on post-flight data analysis of the Artemis 1 mission, NASA officials said SLS is ready to support crewed Artemis missions. SLS, which flew Orion to the lunar orbit, is the most powerful rocket to have ever launched. While the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft performed well on the test flight, the same cannot be said for Orion's heat shield.
Orion's heat shield did not perform as expected
Upon analysis, the team discovered that there was much more variation in the performance of Orion's heat shield than what had been predicted by computer models and ground testing. The heat shield was designed and expected to erode during reentry through Earth's atmosphere, but instead of a general ablation, small pieces of Orion's heat shield were coming off.
The teams are investigating the issue
Fortunately, the degradation of the heat shield is within acceptable limits. The teams are looking into the matter and are inspecting data related to the performance of Orion's heat shield, which includes images and videos taken during reentry, onboard sensor readings, and also X-ray images of samples taken from the shield. NASA is confident that everything will be in order for Artemis 2.
Artemis 3 will land astronauts on the Moon
About 12 months after Artemis 2, NASA will launch Artemis 3 which will land astronauts on the south pole of the Moon. "Our plan has always been 12 months, but there are significant developments that have to occur," said Jim Free, NASA's associate administrator.
